The Associated Press is reporting that INDOT is making demands on Fort Wayne based Brooks Construction with respect to problems in the recent highway projects having to do with prematurely crumbling asphalt.
In a letter sent Friday, INDOT gave Brooks Construction one week to commit to returning the money or replacing three miles of the Hoosier Heartland Highway near Logansport that was completed in 2012, the Indianapolis Star reported.
The letter represents INDOT’s first action against a contractor since acknowledging last week that it suspects as much as $71 million in faulty asphalt was used in 188 projects across the state.
For its part, Brooks said they followed the state’s specifications and that the asphalt repeatedly passed state testing. INDOT says the asphalt Brooks used on the Hoosier Heartland was not the same as asphalt it submitted for testing.
This is one of apparently 188 projects INDOT currently suspects of having asphalt problems. So, there is likely more of this to come.
In the words of Gomer Pyle, “Surprise! Surprise!”. Like with I-69 and Daniel’s other projects, the good stuff would have been too expensive, so they did it on the cheap. And now INDOT wants to blame the company that made the asphalt in accordance with the requirements. This is just the first of many little surprises in the state with the two billion dollar savings account. Time tends to reveal projects done on the cheap.
Stuart: You seem to be assuming that INDOT is at fault here and that the company “made the asphalt in accordance with the requirements” and thus is innocent. Yet, as per Doug’s article, INDOT is claiming that the company cheated by supplying INDOT with good asphalt for testing and then substituted poor asphalt for the actual work. Do we have any idea as to which side is telling the truth? Certainly there are many instances of government incompetence but there also instances of companies defrauding the government and pulling the wool over their eyes. Just look at the recent VW scandal about that company deliberately cheating on emission tests.
Good post, Stuart. I believe in a government that is efficient, competent and fully funds its responsibilities. Indiana has none of these features, but has a mammoth “rainy day fund.” Government is not a savings bank. It should have an amount that is legitimately needed to pay for unforeseen expenses, but hoarding money is not a legitimate government function. But does Indiana government really concern itself with legitimacy?
It will be interesting to see how this plays out especially considering one of Pence’s largest campaign donors is also the state’s largest provider of asphalt. The Heritage Group gave Pence $100,000 this year and I’m sure they expect some sort of return on their investment.
Are these guys sure that they want to take this to court? Are they prepared for a judge making headlines about how inefficient and incompetent the state has been? Like they say, you go in a pig and come out a sausage.
If the surface in question is the same quality as I-65 between Henryville and Columbus, somebody needs to be strung up; be it the governor, somebody in his office, or descending down the chain into INDOT, whoever decided that instead of saying “no” they would say “yessir we’ll make it work”.
The aforementioned stretch of road isn’t going to survive another winter like the last one without a major resurfacing. There are major potholes and scaring STILL from March, and we’re on the cusp of October. When plows were still having to run, they would rip two or three reflectors in a row, and the entire center of the road would just open up around the resulting holes.
I’d like to say I’m not bitter about it, but on my car I have a two bent wheels and a replaced tire (thanks to Cooper’s road hazard warranty), while my wife’s car has two bent wheels, all from the past two winters and that sole stretch of road.
North of Exit 64 is fine. South of there its like driving around Beirut in ’89.
The saddest part of all of it is that we could spend our entire $2B savings, and we could half-ass fix the worst roads, but I don’t think we would be able to touch all the others that need less-but-still-vital TLC.