BREA : Cars Come to Grief in Widening Project

Clement B. Blaszcak has 421 reasons not to like the ongoing widening of Imperial Highway. That’s how many dollars he spent to repair his car in December after he hit a pothole while driving through the construction area.

Blaszcak is not alone. At least one other Brea resident and one motorist from Diamond Bar have filed claims against the city for vehicle damage they say resulted from driving through the area.

Blaszcak, who lives at 659 E. Ash St., said that a front tire and wheel rim on his car were damaged when he hit a 10-inch-deep pothole.

The impact also misaligned his front wheels, he said, and forced him to spend $421.60 for repairs.

He asked the city for reimbursement, but at a meeting last week the City Council rejected his claim, along with those filed by Brea resident Richard Bergstrom and James Grammes of Diamond Bar.

Bergstrom said that in November, while he was stopping for a traffic light, a construction sign was blown over by strong winds and hit his car, causing scratches and dents. He asked the city for $640.30 for repairs.

Grammes asked for $893.76 for damage he said was caused when an asphalt cutter pelted his car with debris and broke his windshield as he was driving by the construction area in November.

The three claims are the only ones the city has received since the widening project started in August, Assistant City Manager Tim O’Donnell said.

All were rejected on advice of the city’s claims administrators and have been referred to Shawnan Corp., the project contractor, O’Donnell said.

“These were not claims for personal injury,” O’Donnell said. “There is no liability on the part of the city, and they have been referred to the contractor.”

Shawnan Corp. settled with Blaszcak and one other claimant, whom a Shawnan official declined to identify.

Blaszcak said he was paid $420 in December, four days after he filed the claim with Shawnan. Ironically, he said, he received a letter last week from the city rejecting his claim.

“I am completely satisfied with Shawnan,” Blaszcak said. “They were polite about it. I talked to a construction guy, he took a picture of the pothole, my tire and rim, and about four days later, I had a check.”

But while confirming the settlement with Blaszcak, the Shawnan official refused to discuss details. He also refused to identify himself for fear that he would invite more motorists to file claims.

“We don’t want to open ourselves to a lot of liability,” he said. The highway “is full of potholes now, not due to the construction but due to bad weather. As contractors, we’re responsible only to a certain degree. The rain is an act of God.”

The $19-million joint project involving the city and the California Department of Transportation is expected to be completed in 1994. Brea’s Redevelopment Agency will shoulder $12 million of the cost of adding one lane in each direction from Berry Street to Randolph Avenue.

Sewer and water lines and storm drains, some of which were built at the turn of the century, also will be upgraded or replaced. Synchronized signal lights, bus turnouts and left-turn signals will be added.

About 45,000 cars use Imperial Highway daily, city officials say. Once the widening is completed, about 75,000 cars a day will be able to travel the road without creating traffic jams.

The project will also improve the business district along the highway, O’Donnell said.