A hefty estimate for automotive repairs following a recent concrete spill from the Essa Road bridge construction site has one driver up in arms over the cost and the lack of communication from the contractor involved.
Vehicle owners recently dealt with the messy aftermath of a concrete pour at a Highway 400 construction site in Barrie’s south at the end of October, which left their cars damaged.
A new bridge has been under construction for several months at the Essa Road interchange in Barrie. Current work ongoing there is on the bridge deck above the city street.
Drivers travelling on Essa Road on Oct. 31 throughout the day found their vehicles covered in watery concrete runoff from the bridge structure when the material was placed.
“I need a whole new paint job as my car still has (concrete) all over it,” Ashley Adams said at the time. “What I think is unfair is now it’ll hurt me for insurance. And I have to pay my deductible?
“I just got my car not even two months ago," she added. "(The contractor) should be responsible for paying for it, not me, and hurting my insurance ... They had it draining all day onto people's cars. I’m glad no one was hurt.”
Adams also said the windows of her car were down at the time.
“Cement was on my door, my front dash, it was on me and my passenger,” she said. “It was just falling so hard that it went everywhere, so awful.”
Now, more than a month later, Adams says she's left with an enormous repair estimate and no word from the contractor or insurance company as to where the situation currently stands.
She says she was handed an estimate from one local repair company which amounted to an eye-opening $35,000.
Adams supplied BarrieToday with a copy of the estimate.
Adams said she purchased her 2014 Nissan Rogue just two months prior to the spill and paid $11,500 for it.
Mentally, she says she's not dealing with the circumstances very well.
“My car is awful. I was so happy. I just bought it and now it’s just awful,” she said.
The estimate, when broken down, describes labour costs of $11,627.10, new parts at a cost of $15,985.31, after-market parts costing $586.46 and the cost of paint at $1,492. Taxes alone amount to $4,087.96.
A second estimate from another shop pegged the repairs at a much more modest but still steep $7,000, Adams said.
Shortly after the incident, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Transportation suggested that those affected by the leakage “should contact the contractor to discuss these issues at [email protected].”
Complainants are asked to provide date of the incident, time and any available photos pertaining to their claim.
With her repair estimates in hand, Adams says she sent the paperwork off to GIP and has, so far, received “zero response."
"I’ve sent numerous emails to GIP and nothing back," she said.
In previous correspondence to the complainants, which was obtained by BarrieToday at the time, the contractor said making a claim against them is “different from making a claim with your insurance company.”
They noted that making a claim through their own insurance company “means that you are taking advantage of your existing insurance coverage for your personal assets, via your insurance policy, whereas a claim against GIP requires an investigation to determine whether or not GIP is liable before any compensation can be provided with respect to repairs/costs.”
GIP encouraged people to contact their insurance company, saying “if you have not already, as your existing insurance coverage may be more extensive than the recovery that could be provided from GIP.
“Your insurance company may seek to recover damages against GIP on your behalf. For property damage claims, if GIP is found to be negligent, the amount that you may receive in compensation is limited to the condition of the property just before the damage occurred,” the company wrote.
Amy Smith, who also spoke to BarrieToday at the time of the spill, is awaiting an outcome in regard to her vehicle damage.
“I got two estimates and sent them in,” she said. “My partner has spoken to someone at GIP claims and they are processing it.”