In August of 2005, engineers discovered poorly constructed pavement in Durham County. (A smaller problem, a sinkhole, caused holiday traffic delays near the end of 2006.) The 10.6 mile stretch of I-40 was supposed to use state of the art building materials and construction practices. But soon after the roadway was built, the pavement began to buckle, crack and would have to be ripped up and completely repaved. Why? It turns out engineers at NCDOT were not familiar with the new materials used in construction, and they failed to tell the contractor, Granite Construction, what precisely needed to be done. And while NCDOT employees maintain they verbally told Granite what to do in the end, specs are supposed to be delivered in writing as a matter of policy.
The Durham County pavement problem has been well chronicled by Bruce Siceloff of the News & Observer. Recounts Siceloff:
Ultimately, this new pavement required special expansion joints be cut in the concrete. The joints that were cut were not nearly as deep as they needed to be for this type of construction. Had the process been done properly, the road would have lasted 30 years. Instead it lasted only two years. Despite arguments over who is more to blame — NCDOT or the construction contractor – this pavement failure will cost North Carolina taxpayers $18.6 million to repair.
The fiasco has already cost a high-level job and some settlement money. The first to go was Len Sanderson, who led the investigation into the botched project and took his share of the blame shortly before announcing his “retirement.” But many think the purging should not stop with Sanderson. Some have suggested the resignation of Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett – a long-time supporter of Governor Easley – is in order. Granite Construction has already accepted its portion of the blame and will contribute $3 million dollars to the reconstruction effort. But the lion’s share will come from taxpayers – i.e., state and federal coffers.
Currently, the state Board of Transportation and the General Assembly are trying to figure out just where repair funds should come from. NCDOT may be forced to take the funds from its own administrative division. But if the repair is viewed as a cost overrun, money will be drawn from funds earmarked for other Triangle projects. Writes Siceloff: “That means the I-40 fix will gobble up federal and state money that could otherwise have been spent on other road improvements in a seven-county area that includes Wake and Durham counties. The estimated $18.6 million cost could be diverted, for example, from the planned $18 million widening of Aviation Parkway in Morrisville or a $15 million widening of T.W. Alexander Drive in Durham.”