Indiana DOT reaches settlement with Brooks Construction over pavement work

Photo credit: oldskulphoto/Flickr

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Brooks Construction have agreed to a settlement requiring the contractor to repave a section of State Road 25 in Cass County.

The settlement, signed by Gov. Michael Pence, Attorney General Gregory Zoeller and Brooks Construction President Andrew Brooks, is the result of INDOT’s complaint last year of “material deficiencies” in Brooks work that caused deterioration at an “alarming rate.”

The agency had asked Brooks to either replace the pavement or repay the department the amount paid to the contractor for the asphalt materials as part of the contract—$5,146,902. The original work was completed in 2012.

INDOT, Brooks Construction settlement (click to view full document)

Brooks will remove and replace 5.5 inches or three layers of asphalt on a 3-mile section of State Road 25 at their own expense. The company will have to submit to INDOT a new asphalt mix and quality control plan prior to the work, and they will not ask to be compensated for the work, according to the agreement.

In exchange, the agency will not use this incident as a reason to withhold future contracts from the company, and it will award three pending contracts to Brooks on which the company had been the lowest responsible and responsible bidder.

“Our goal through the discussion process has been to reach an outcome that ensures Indiana taxpayers receive the quality of road for which they paid and that INDOT receives the finished product for which it contracted,” says INDOT Commissioner Brandye Hendrickson. “I am pleased that we’ve arrived at a mutually agreeable solution that will result in Brooks Construction replacing the top layers of pavement on State Road 25 in Cass County, which will achieve the durability and the lifespan originally anticipated. I want to thank Brooks Construction for its commitment to a collaborative, constructive dialogue. Brooks is a valued partner for INDOT as we continue efforts to preserve and modernize Indiana’s transportation system.”

“We are confident both parties will be proud of the finished project as will Hoosier motorists,” Brooks Executive Vice President John Brooks says. “Going forward, INDOT has awarded us new contracts and we will remain an industry leader in providing products of the highest quality—just as we have for more than a century.”