Michigan DOT doesn’t hold contractors to project warranties, audit finds

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) isn’t holding roadwork contractors properly accountable for warranties on their projects, which puts the cost of repairs to such projects squarely on the state’s shoulders, according to an audit of the warranty system by Auditor General Doug Ringler.

According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, slightly more than half of expired warranty contracts needed “corrective action,” with more than a quarter of them being more than a year old.

MDOT says it agrees with the actions needed in the report and will have a plan ready to take action later this year.

“By October 2015, MDOT, in working with the Department of Attorney General, will develop a procedure for non-responsive contractors that have been notified to perform warranty work,” the department is quoted in the Detroit Free Press report.

Such a report of inefficiencies comes at a time when federal funding via the Highway Trust Fund is uncertain. In May, Michigan residents will have the opportunity to vote on Proposal One, which will increase state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to bring in an estimated $1.2 billion each year for road and bridge projects.