TDOT commissioner says several to blame for bad guardrails

A private subcontractor used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation is under state and federal investigation for the work.

According to WSMV-TV, the guardrails were sunk in the ground only 12 inches instead of the required 44.

Gerald Nicely, TDOT commissioner, said the system broke down at four levels: Lu, Inc., of Kingston Springs, the subcontractor; Ray Bell Construction Co. of Nashville, the prime contractor that hired Lu; Gresham Smith and Partners of Nashville, engineers doing the inspection; and TDOT.

“It looked like the entire system failed,” Nicely said.

Novice Cole Jr., owner of Lu, Inc., has declined comment.

TDOT, in an internal audit April 12, said it had substantiated allegations that the guardrail posts had been cut before they were placed in the ground.

TDOT suspended Lu’s state contracts earlier this month and is moving to bar the company from bidding on any future state projects. Lu has been the subcontractor on $20 million worth of highway work in Tennessee since 1998.
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Information from WSMV-TV, Nashville, http://www.wsmv.com