WASHINGTON – Driving through the multiple repaving projects across the region is not for those who kiss their cars goodnight. Chances are, the windshield and the hood have a few dings, cracks or chips.
Some drivers who commute through road construction daily have damage to their car and have been unsure of where to go to file a complaint.
Adrian Kessler, of Lorton, Va., has been trying to figure out what construction company to contact as his Subaru is riddled with dings and dents.
“You can’t fault the driver in front of you for kicking up the stuff that’s on the ground. I’m just annoyed by the lack of clean-up every night,” Kessler says.
He takes issue with the repaving project on Interstate 495 by FedEx Field between Landover, Md., and Joint Base Andrews.
While the Maryland Highway Administration says the shoulder and ramps of that project should be completed by late October, Kessler is not alone. Drivers’ vehicles take little hits traveling through construction all around the area.
On WTOP’s Facebook page, Richard Freeman says he has two recent nicks to his windshield from work between Route 50 and Route 4.
“It appears they are not been doing as good of a job ‘sweeping’ after tearing up the pavement and cleaning the debris left over. Is there a way to get the state to repair the nicks,” Freeman says.
While the state doesn’t promise any compensation, the Maryland State Highway Administration allows drivers to file complaints, where they can list the damage done to their car and the specific area where it occurred.
On each contracted job, an MTA engineer is on the site, responsible for managing the timeline of work and things like clean-up.
“The inspector will generally ride through the area afterwards. We do have a little precaution there built-in to do the right thing, for best practices,” says state highway spokesman Charlie Gischlar.
Clean-up is part of the job, Gischlar says, but there is the chance of some debris left on the roadway.
“Whenever you have a job, there is a possibility of having a minor pebbles stuff like that. We advise our contractor, they have to run a street sweeper through there. And then after that, it’s the brand new pavement,” Gischlar says.
Follow @WTOPtraffic and @WTOP on Twitter.
