The construction company that caused delays on I-480 Wednesday morning will be assessed a fine of about $12,800 for failing to have lanes reopened by 6 a.m.
The Ohio Department of Transportation will fine Kokosing Construction Company for failing to abide by the contract requirement to have lanes open on I-480 near Granger Road by 6 a.m., according to an ODOT representative. ODOT is also looking into the contract to possibly assess additional, more significant fines for the incident.
Airtracker 5 spotted the construction crew blocking the right lanes on I-480 Wednesday morning. Traffic was backed up at one point in I-480 from Granger to Ridge roads.
ODOT released this statement Wednesday morning:
ODOT is frustrated by an uptick in construction companies, working by contract on behalf of our agency, continuing overnight work through the morning rush hour. This is NOT permitted under the terms of our contract.
This morning the Kokosing Construction Company kept lanes closed on I-480 near Granger Road beyond the permitted time, causing long delays for motorists. ODOT will firmly address this incident with the contractor. At this time, the fines for this morning’s infraction have not been calculated.
In order to ensure construction companies are not making these business decisions at the expense of the time and safety of the travelling public, ODOT is rolling out statewide contract standards with stiffer disincentives for contractors who keep travel lanes closed longer than allowed.
The disincentive formula, which will be applied statewide and written into new contracts moving forward, will calculate fees for each stretch of highway under construction based on the route’s traffic volume (both passenger vehicles and trucks) and the number of lanes in each direction. Higher-volume routes, such as urban interstates, will carry higher disincentives in order to ensure construction companies are not creating countless hours of travel delay in order to save money on projects. The formula will be adjusted regularly for inflation.
News 5 has reported on the past several times that contractors hired by ODOT did not abide by their rules.
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