Warren residents may be disappointed that the state Department of Transportation isn’t going to stop work on the proposed downtown roundabout — but they shouldn’t be surprised.

It’s incredibly difficult, especially in the world of state bureaucracy, to rescind approvals at the last minute. The wheels of government churn slowly, but they also tend to churn in only one direction. Once the Warren City Council gave its approval years ago and design work began it was going to be difficult to stop the project.

The questions raised by newer members of the City Council in their most recent letter to PennDOT were never going to be enough to stop a project that has seen more than a million dollars of office work invested.

Frankly, were the state to go around wasting millions of dollars on such start-and-stop projects around the state taxpayers would be livid — and with good reason.

The time to stop this project was before it began, not on the eve of construction.

New council members have done what they can short of a lawsuit to stop the project. Unfortunately, the horse has left the barn.