Post by Matt on Oct 28, 2007 12:25:15 GMT -5
Oct. 25, 2007
[glow=red,2,300]Motorists Drive through construction zone, vehicles plowed up lane of freshly poured concrete.[/glow]
Dennis Paul was turning west on Mequon Road Wednesday night when his 2004 Mercury Marquis sank into the pavement.
Paul, a 67-year-old attorney who lives in River Hills, had just exited northbound I-43 about 6:30 p.m. when he followed the taillights in front of him onto a lane of freshly poured concrete.
Paul, whose car became stuck in the soup and had to be towed out, said he had avoided the area recently because of the construction and wasn't familiar with the project's status when he made the errant turn.
"It was really a very confusing and poorly marked intersection," Paul said.
Once the car was retrieved, a mechanic had to take an air chisel - the equivalent of a small jackhammer - to Paul's car to clean off the quick-setting concrete.
The new pavement had to be torn up after at least four and as many as 10 vehicles drove on the wrong side of a line of orange barrels and yellow caution tape and into the wet concrete. The problem is the latest for a construction project that has drawn howls of protest from residents and inspired a Weblog for motorists' complaints.
Mequon police officers who went to the scene Wednesday night said the area appeared clearly marked. They are considering whether to ticket Paul and the driver of a 2004 Lexus whose car got stuck.
Jeanne Marchant of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which is heading the reconstruction, said it's possible a barrel or two got knocked over, creating confusion.
On the other hand, she said, drivers in the project area "are very ambitious when it comes to driving techniques. They don't like to wait in line."
The problem, Paul said, is that although there were plenty of barrels and caution tape on Mequon Road, none of them prevented vehicles from turning into the lane of freshly poured concrete.
Mequon resident Glenn Bushee - who in August created an Internet blog at mequonclog.com to express his frustration over the reconstruction - also suspects that poor planning and marking were to blame for Wednesday's problems.
"I can't say with certainty, but given the history that I've seen, I would be very reluctant to put the blame on the drivers," Bushee said.
A company representative of J&A Pohl of Brookfield, which poured the concrete, told Mequon police that the incident will add $15,000 to $20,000 to the cost of repaving the 150-foot section of road.
"It will be nice when the whole construction project's done," Sgt. Tony Restivo said.
Paul's Marquis was being cleaned up Thursday at Gierach's Service in Mequon. Nick Gierach said this is at least the second time one or more vehicles have driven into wet concrete on Mequon Road but the first time he's aware that any had to be towed out.
"It's not horrible," Gierach said of Paul's car, "but there's definitely a lot of cement wedged in the frame."
[glow=red,2,300]Motorists Drive through construction zone, vehicles plowed up lane of freshly poured concrete.[/glow]
Dennis Paul was turning west on Mequon Road Wednesday night when his 2004 Mercury Marquis sank into the pavement.
Paul, a 67-year-old attorney who lives in River Hills, had just exited northbound I-43 about 6:30 p.m. when he followed the taillights in front of him onto a lane of freshly poured concrete.
Paul, whose car became stuck in the soup and had to be towed out, said he had avoided the area recently because of the construction and wasn't familiar with the project's status when he made the errant turn.
"It was really a very confusing and poorly marked intersection," Paul said.
Once the car was retrieved, a mechanic had to take an air chisel - the equivalent of a small jackhammer - to Paul's car to clean off the quick-setting concrete.
The new pavement had to be torn up after at least four and as many as 10 vehicles drove on the wrong side of a line of orange barrels and yellow caution tape and into the wet concrete. The problem is the latest for a construction project that has drawn howls of protest from residents and inspired a Weblog for motorists' complaints.
Mequon police officers who went to the scene Wednesday night said the area appeared clearly marked. They are considering whether to ticket Paul and the driver of a 2004 Lexus whose car got stuck.
Jeanne Marchant of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which is heading the reconstruction, said it's possible a barrel or two got knocked over, creating confusion.
On the other hand, she said, drivers in the project area "are very ambitious when it comes to driving techniques. They don't like to wait in line."
The problem, Paul said, is that although there were plenty of barrels and caution tape on Mequon Road, none of them prevented vehicles from turning into the lane of freshly poured concrete.
Mequon resident Glenn Bushee - who in August created an Internet blog at mequonclog.com to express his frustration over the reconstruction - also suspects that poor planning and marking were to blame for Wednesday's problems.
"I can't say with certainty, but given the history that I've seen, I would be very reluctant to put the blame on the drivers," Bushee said.
A company representative of J&A Pohl of Brookfield, which poured the concrete, told Mequon police that the incident will add $15,000 to $20,000 to the cost of repaving the 150-foot section of road.
"It will be nice when the whole construction project's done," Sgt. Tony Restivo said.
Paul's Marquis was being cleaned up Thursday at Gierach's Service in Mequon. Nick Gierach said this is at least the second time one or more vehicles have driven into wet concrete on Mequon Road but the first time he's aware that any had to be towed out.
"It's not horrible," Gierach said of Paul's car, "but there's definitely a lot of cement wedged in the frame."
