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[video]http://www.fox4kc.com/videobeta/508f93f3-acf0-474d-a96d-557bddb3427d/News/Drivers-Bypass-Barricades-to-Drive-on-Wet-Cement[/video]
10 Cars Plow Through Wet Concrete at Massive Construction Site
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. —
It was a messy delay for a major ramp after 10 vehicles drove on top of freshly-poured concrete at 69 Highway and 87th Street. Now engineers are studying how best to repair damage to the ramp.
Workers had just finished pouring about 1,400 feet of concrete Friday, when a driver bypassed barricades to drive up the ramp. Police at the scene that night said at least nine more cars followed them.
"Some lady went off the road," said Karlie Pflumm. "We knew it was closed, we thought, but these two cones were separated for a car to get through. The lady went and we followed her."
Pflumm and her friend were second in line and one of two cars that had to be pulled out of the concrete. A KDOT spokesperson said she can't understand how drivers could mistake barricades blocking the ramp.
"We thought we were on gravel for a second, because I said, 'Do you hear things coming up and hitting my car?' We go on gravel a lot, and I thought maybe gravel, and when we saw that lady stopped, we hopped out and our feet started sinking and we're like, okay we're in wet cement."
The damage may mean a lot of the concrete will have to be torn out and replaced. Tire marks are clearly visible at the end of the ramp on 87th Street, when the cars' tires sunk down into the concrete when the vehicles came to a stop.
Crews from Clarkson Construction say about 700 feet of the ramp probably will have to be torn out and re-poured.
"Anytime we get traffic that goes into fresh concrete, if we're out there and working, we can fix it," Robert Fry with Clarkson Construction said. "If it's after hours, trying to get guys back to fix it, this time of year when it's cold, it just really makes it difficult. It makes it almost impossible to fix."
Fry says traffic was moving slowly northbound on 69 Highway Friday night. There may have been an accident up ahead and he believes frustrated drivers saw the ramp as an escape and steered around barrels and barricades to cause the damage.
Drivers who travel 69 Highway regularly say any reasonable person should have known the ramp was closed.
"The fact that they ignored road signs to come up, it's been blocked now for several months so it's not like it's a new thing," driver Wayne Yake said. "People have had to go around this quite a bit. There's been so much work being done on 69 now for a very long time, it's surprising that they would think they could suddenly get around it. It's not finished."
The ramp was scheduled to open next week, but now that may be delayed a week as crews make repairs and hope for good weather to repave the damaged road surface.
"Everything is up in the air," Fry said. "How we gonna remove it, because we don't want to damage the base underneath it either."
The Kansas Highway Patrol and Overland Park Police said they don't have any information on the vehicles and drivers that caused this damage. On Sunday, KDOT estimated costs are expected to be tens of thousands of dollars. The estimated repair time is one to three weeks.
10 Cars Plow Through Wet Concrete at Massive Construction Site
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. —
It was a messy delay for a major ramp after 10 vehicles drove on top of freshly-poured concrete at 69 Highway and 87th Street. Now engineers are studying how best to repair damage to the ramp.
Workers had just finished pouring about 1,400 feet of concrete Friday, when a driver bypassed barricades to drive up the ramp. Police at the scene that night said at least nine more cars followed them.
"Some lady went off the road," said Karlie Pflumm. "We knew it was closed, we thought, but these two cones were separated for a car to get through. The lady went and we followed her."
Pflumm and her friend were second in line and one of two cars that had to be pulled out of the concrete. A KDOT spokesperson said she can't understand how drivers could mistake barricades blocking the ramp.
"We thought we were on gravel for a second, because I said, 'Do you hear things coming up and hitting my car?' We go on gravel a lot, and I thought maybe gravel, and when we saw that lady stopped, we hopped out and our feet started sinking and we're like, okay we're in wet cement."
The damage may mean a lot of the concrete will have to be torn out and replaced. Tire marks are clearly visible at the end of the ramp on 87th Street, when the cars' tires sunk down into the concrete when the vehicles came to a stop.
Crews from Clarkson Construction say about 700 feet of the ramp probably will have to be torn out and re-poured.
"Anytime we get traffic that goes into fresh concrete, if we're out there and working, we can fix it," Robert Fry with Clarkson Construction said. "If it's after hours, trying to get guys back to fix it, this time of year when it's cold, it just really makes it difficult. It makes it almost impossible to fix."
Fry says traffic was moving slowly northbound on 69 Highway Friday night. There may have been an accident up ahead and he believes frustrated drivers saw the ramp as an escape and steered around barrels and barricades to cause the damage.
Drivers who travel 69 Highway regularly say any reasonable person should have known the ramp was closed.
"The fact that they ignored road signs to come up, it's been blocked now for several months so it's not like it's a new thing," driver Wayne Yake said. "People have had to go around this quite a bit. There's been so much work being done on 69 now for a very long time, it's surprising that they would think they could suddenly get around it. It's not finished."
The ramp was scheduled to open next week, but now that may be delayed a week as crews make repairs and hope for good weather to repave the damaged road surface.
"Everything is up in the air," Fry said. "How we gonna remove it, because we don't want to damage the base underneath it either."
The Kansas Highway Patrol and Overland Park Police said they don't have any information on the vehicles and drivers that caused this damage. On Sunday, KDOT estimated costs are expected to be tens of thousands of dollars. The estimated repair time is one to three weeks.
