CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Drivers heading into work Wednesday morning were met with miles of backups around uptown Charlotte after bridge work was delayed for hours.
The backups were so bad, they stretched nearly five miles from I-85 to the bridge between I-277 and Independence Boulevard.
Channel 9 discovered the delay happened when the contractor, American Contracting and Services Incorporated, had to switch out one of the trucks. It was supposed to be carrying water, but it wasn’t cleaned thoroughly, so it was still hauling residue from a different project.
The bridge was supposed to be open before the Wednesday morning rush, but it was shut down until 8:30 a.m. because the contractor poured the concrete too late.
It caused the contractor to become three hours behind schedule. Every 15 minutes the contractor is late reopening one of the construction zones, they can be charged up to $2,500.
Channel 9 found out the lengthy delay happened because the contractor had to scramble to switch out one of their trucks.
The truck was supposed to be carrying water, but it wasn't cleaned thoroughly, so it was still hauling salt residue from a different project.
"We're going to make it clear that's not acceptable,” said NCDOT spokesperson Jen Thompson.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is trying to figure out if officials will slap the contractor with a fine.
Smith said it took her four times longer to get to work.
“Everybody has to take responsibility and accountability for their actions, so I think they should be fined. They should have to pay that price, unfortunately,” driver Jessica Smith said.
American Contracting and Services Incorporated started work on the I-277 bridge a month ago. Over the next two years, the contractor is going to work through the night to replace half of the bridges around I-277.
"I didn't even know if it was an accident or what was going on,” Smith said. “See this is very frustrating. We have to come into the city and work and we're paying taxes to have these roads fixed and then they're hindering us from getting to work."
Channel 9 took those frustrations straight to NCDOT.
“'We don't want it to happen again. We are going to everything we can to prevent it from happening again,” Thompson said.
Construction on the rest of the freeway bridges hasn’t started yet, but that will also take another two years.
Channel 9 checked and road work on all 22 of the bridges they are working on are supposed to be finished by 6 a.m. on Thursday.
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