Lynchburg, Va. - VDOT leaders and Commonwealth Transportation Board members are gearing up for a meeting in Lynchburg to decide the fate of Hampton Roads interstates after the fallout from the pothole nightmare last month.
NewsChannel 3’s Laurie Simmons will be there to get updates for Hampton Roads drivers. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday morning and Laurie will be live tweeting from the event. Click here to follow her on Twitter.
Many motorists remember that horrific day on February 8th when heavy rains left craters up and down I-264 east in Norfolk. These dangerous potholes took out more than 20 cars, and caused troopers to shut down the interstate.
It was a pothole problem that had been brewing for years, and it finally blew up in VDOT`s face.
Millions of dollars started pouring in from Richmond for new concrete and hot mix asphalt to patch the crumbling roads.
But the increased efforts by VDOT came too late to save Dennis Heuer. Less than one week after the pothole emergency, the Hampton Roads District Administrator resigned amid public pressure.
NewsChannel 3 also dug deeper into TME enterprises, the company at the center of the pothole controversy. We found that TME didn`t patch potholes in a timely manner, and they never paid a single pothole claim, ever!
At the same time, the Commonwealth Transportation Board started expressing their doubts, putting the brakes on TME Enterprises' new 5 year, 34 million-dollar contract.
VDOT commissioner Greg Whirley's report, released soon after that meeting, slammed TME Enterprises, saying they didn`t follow through with their contract, to maintain a "safe, smooth and durable" roadway.
But it seems TME didn't mind. One week later, the company announced they were no longer interested in the job, and they pulled their bid for the new contract.
Click here to view all of NewsChannel 3's previous coverage on VDOT Potholes.
