Quick Repair!

C-clamp to pull them together and vice grips to hold them in place. Or maybe they walked them together alternating back and forth between the pliers. In any case it looks like a good temporary fix to me.

I do agree they wasted too much tape. And I'd of probably run a piece of wire through each of the pliers and tied them off loosely to the axle so I wouldn't lose them if they slipped off. No duct tape repair is complete without the application of baling wire!