ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Transportation is dealing with a major backlog of hundreds of damaged guardrails in metro Atlanta.
GDOT admits there are about 200 twisted and mangled guardrails across the metro area.
“We understand that this is a problem. We know it’s a problem,” GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said.
The guardrails are a critical safety component for drivers.
“What is happening now is not living up to the standards that we have set, that the public expects, for the Department of Transportation,” Dale said.
A local High school senior, who asked not to be identified, hydroplaned into a guardrail along Interstate 85 near Chamblee Tucker Road the first week in June.
Within days, GDOT filed a nearly $2,600 claim with her insurance company for repairs. Two months later, the guardrail is still not repaired.
“I hope they fix it very quickly, though. That rail did save my life, so I hope it can help save another person’s life,” the teen said.
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GDOT said Georgia suffers from a lack of highly specialized guardrail contractors. One local contractor does 80 percent of the state’s work, including all the maintenance and new construction in metro Atlanta.
Guardrail work is a high-risk job that not many contractors want to do.
“Because you’re dealing with someone who typically is getting in a wreck. When they hit a guardrail, not only is the state getting sued, but also the contractor, so it can be very risky business for a contractor,” said David Moellering, with the Georgia Highway Contractors Association.
GDOT is actively recruiting contractors from neighboring states to bid on guardrail jobs. The agency said it will keep working towards a solution.
“This is not something that we’re going to walk away from until we have a successful solution,” Dale said.
GDOT said it hopes to have a new maintenance contract in place by the end of September.
Cox Media Group
