Contractors responsible for vehicles damaged in roadway construction zones [The Decatur Daily, Ala.]

May 5—If your vehicle sustains damage while driving through a contractor's road construction zone, don't blame the government.

Instead, the damage is the responsibility of the contractor, local officials said.

In the case of roadwork performed by city, county or state crews, credible damage claims go to lawyers who handle them for that branch of government.

Athens Engineer Michael Griffin said when a road construction project is bid out, the construction limits become the contractor's property temporarily.

"They lease that right of way out, or that portion of our property during construction," he said. "So, they're responsible within the project limit confines."

The project limits, Griffin said, start and end with the signs that say, "construction zone begins" and "end road work." The property within those signs is the contractor's responsibility, he said.

"If they drop a load of dirt and somebody hits it or ... a piece of construction equipment hits another car while they're within the limits of the construction project, that company is liable for those damages," Griffin said.

Griffin said the driver with the damaged vehicle would need to file a claim with the contractor.

"You're on their property while there's an active construction site going on within a right of way," he said.

Griffin said that once the project is completed according to the bid, then the city takes back over responsibility of that area. He said if the city is doing road construction, then the city is liable. Griffin said Athens and its contractors must follow Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) specifications and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices guidelines with all road construction.

"If we've got grooved pavement you have to put up a sign for motorcyclists or if you have a dirty surface it's got to be cleaned within 24 hours," he said. "Your signs have to have a certain amount of reflectivity ... so at night people can see them. ... There's a plethora of restrictions and requirements in order to develop or build within a right of way."

Griffin said the Athens City Clerk's office handles any claims that come from a vehicle issue within the city's road construction zone. He said they do not accept every claim because some are fraudulent.

"Some people will obviously call and say, 'You damaged my rims.' ... We get a lot of those, like potholes," Griffin said. "We have to be very careful on how we proceed on those types of claims."

Claims against the city are pretty rare, Griffin said.

"It has to make common sense," he said. "It's not like a, hey, I need you to buy me new tires. That's one of the most common ones, a flat tire."

Seth Burkett, Alabama Department of Transportation north region spokesman, said the main road construction in Athens currently is Huntsville Brownsferry Road. The project also encompasses Tanner Crossroads which is where Huntsville Brownsferry Road crosses U.S. 31. Rogers Group is completing the work for ALDOT.

"SR-304/Huntsville Brownsferry Road is still anticipated to be complete in spring of 2024," Burkett said.

Decatur Engineer Carl Prewitt said Decatur's road crews do all they can to maintain their project's area.

"In general, we try to keep things as clean as can be, but it's a construction site so it's not going to be perfect," he said. "We do the best we can."

As is the case with other municipalities, Prewitt said Decatur is not liable for damage when it is not their project.

"If we have a contractor doing the work, it's the contractor's responsibility for the safety and stuff that's going on during that project," he said. "Now, do we still get claims for them or sometimes do people call and ask? I send it to our legal department which handles any claims like that through the city."

Burkett said the main road construction in Decatur right now is being managed by ALDOT. Roadwork is currently taking place to realign left-turn lanes on Beltline Road at Sandlin Road. The project will allow left turns from the Beltline with permissive green arrows. Realignment of Beltline Road's left-turn lanes at Central Parkway has been completed.

"We anticipate the Beltline intersections project being mostly complete in about a month, weather permitting," Burkett said. "That would include drainage, concrete, asphalt, signs, etc. being in place and both intersections being fully open. Permanent striping for both intersections will come later."

Prewitt said sometimes building construction can affect the roadways. Downtown there is building construction on the block surrounded by First Avenue Southeast, East Moulton Street, Second Avenue and Johnston Street.

"Downtown, that block where the (hotel is) being built, the parking garage is going to get built, the dorms are getting built," he said. "Obviously that's not road construction, but it's construction around the road and from time to time debris spills out into the street. Which we do our best to get the contractors to keep it cleaned up but, again, it's a construction site and things happen."

Burkett said when ALDOT hires contractors for roadwork, they are responsible for damages to vehicles.

"Contractors are responsible for cleaning up debris," he said. "Any claims resulting from an incident in a construction zone would ultimately need to go to the contractor, not the state. ... Claims to the state go through our legal department."

Beth Allen, owner of Allen Insurance in Decatur, said if someone's vehicle is damaged in a roadwork construction zone, they should not have to go through their auto insurance agency.

"I would tell them first off they should get out and find out who to talk to that would be over that company so you can tell them what's happened and what they need to do about it," she said.

Allen said her company would only get involved in the incident if the city, state or contractor handling the roadwork rejects the claim.

"If the construction company handles it properly, then I shouldn't be involved," she said. "I would suggest first off to try to get in touch with them before I turned it into my (auto insurance) company and it go on their record when it's not their fault."

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.

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