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Construction concerns
Construction concerns
MILWAUKEE — A mysterious object his a woman's car. She thinks a major construction project is to blame. It's not unheard of, but can anything be done?
Jessica Pliska doesn't know what hit her windshield as she passed under the Ryan Road bridge on I-94 North.
"It was louder than anything I have ever heard hit my car," Pliska recalled. "I've been in accidents before and I`ve never heard a noise like this."
Photo of damage to Jessica Pliska's windshield
It happened in September around 5:45 in the morning.
"It was completely pitch black outside," Pliska said.
She thinks something fell from the bridge. The Ryan Road interchange has been under construction for a year.
"Had I been twenty feet away from the bridge I would have chalked this up to, 'Yes, it's road debris. This is kind of my problem.' But, I was underneath when it hit," Pliska said.
Jessica Pliska
She called the sheriff's department and got her windshield repaired. Insurance covered half the costs.
"Cost me $525," Pliska said.
She reached out to the lead contractor on the project, Zenith Tech, to ask the company to cover the cost and have the bridge inspected.
"The bigger issue here is that somebody could have been injured," Pliska said.
Zenith Tech sent Contact 6 a letter that read:
Contact 6 could not prove what hit Pliska's car or where it came from. However, with so many roadway projects underway throughout the region, Contact 6 did turn to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to find out what drivers can do if their vehicle is damaged by something from a road project.
Michael Pyritz of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation can't speak to Pliska's experience, but he says when a vehicle is damaged by construction it's the contractor's responsibility.
Contact 6's Jenna Sachs talks to Michael Pyritz from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
"Incidents will hopefully not occur however nothing is 100-percent," Pyritz said. "The state and counties are held harmless, that's part of state statute."
If your vehicle is damaged:
"We want law enforcement to know about it. It could be hazardous to other motorists as well, and the faster that a dangerous situation can be addressed, the safer it is for everybody,: Pyritz said.
As for any refunds, Pyritz says the first step is to talk to your insurance company.
For Pliska, she says it's about more than money. She's worried about safety.
"As somebody who goes under this bridge a lot, it terrifies me," Pliska said.
She asked Contact 6 to track down documentation that Zenith Tech did investigate the bridge.
"That`s what I`m really trying to get from them," said Pliska.
Contact 6 requested the project leader's daily diary report, which confirms a "walkthrough" was done and "there was no indication from below that something fell."
Pliska said she was glad to see the report and grateful the bridge was inspected.
The DOT says it has not received any other complaints related to the Ryan Road bridge since the interchange project began.