THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 22, 1995 TAG: 9507220245
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The first time that Don Thompson noticed flecks of white paint on his wife's black 1992 Miata he thought the vehicle's formerly flawless finish had been damaged somewhere in her employer's parking lot.
That was last August. Thompson, a confirmed car lover, ranted and raved at how cruel fate can be, and then resigned himself to reality. He filed a claim with his wife's insurance company and had the Miata's paint job fixed at a body shop.
Then, in November, it happened again. This time, Thompson, a 44-year-old computer specialist at Hampton Fort Monroe who lives across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in West Ocean View, looked for another explanation. He began to think that his wife, on her way to work, had run her car through paint that had been spilled on the bridge-tunnel's road.
But when Thompson contacted the bridge-tunnel office, he was told the Miata's finish probably had been accidentally sprayed by a contractor painting the underside of the bridge crossing.
``That is the first time I had heard of the term `overspray,' '' Thompson recalled.
Thompson got $250 from the painting contractor's insurance company so he could get the Miata fixed again.
Thompson went away happy.
But when the white flecks showed up a third time this month, Thompson was out of patience. He reported the damage to the bridge-tunnel authorities and again got $250. He also told them he'd had enough.
``I'm just mad because this is the third time that this has happened,'' Thompson said this week.
Thompson believes that hundreds, maybe thousands, of motorists have had their cars sprayed accidentally in the same way but don't know how the damage occurred.
Bruce Wilkerson, the maintenance superintendent for the bridge-tunnel, said the paint is an epoxy coating being applied to the bridge pilings and the pier caps. The project has been going on for almost a year.
The epoxy should protect the bridge from salt water and chemicals for 40 to 50 years, Wilkerson said. It is applied from a barge with a utility boat that monitors the release of the epoxy.
All effort, Wilkerson said, is made to keep the spray from going into the water or blowing up onto the roadway. But, Wilkerson said, ``these things happen when the wind gets up.''
A spokesman for E. Caligari and Sons of Norfolk, one of the contractors doing the paint work, said about 10 people have made claims like Thompson's so far.
``We take care of everything that is brought to us,'' the spokesman said. ``We are trying to do exactly what the state is asking us to do, but this could turn into a disaster.''
Jerry Morrison, engineer in charge of construction for the bridge-tunnel, said he first learned of the paint-spray problem this week. Morrison said he is going to do whatever has to be done to keep this problem from recurring.
``I would certainly think we are going to look into this with the contractor,'' Morrison said. ``There is bound to be a way to keep that paint from coming up there.''
Anyone who suspects that their car's finish has been damaged by the paint spray should contact the bridge-tunnel, Wilkerson said. MEMO: The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel can be reached at 627-6206.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Lawrence Jackson, Staff
Don Thompson was puzzled by the white paint speckled on his wife's
Miata, until he learned that Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel workers
accidentally sprayed it. Now he thinks her car may not be the only
one.
by CNB