By Marla Jones, Reporter • marla@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — Several social media sites have been flooded with pictures of automobiles that have received damage due to an asphalt sealer that was applied to County Roads 141, 140, and 137.
According to District 1, DeKalb County Commissioner, Shane Wooten, “ We apologize for the damage to your vehicles, this sealer has been used on several miles of roads in DeKalb County over the past five years and nothing like this has ever happened before.” Wooten went on to say “The contractor that applied this product to the roads is currently working to set up cleanup shops to assist in cleaning the vehicles of people affected. If you have damage please contact Tim Ribes, the project coordinator of Corrective Asphalt Material at (618) 254-3855 or tim@cammidwest.com.
Wooten would like to thank all for their patience as we work through these issues. He stated that he had received an update from Mr. Ribes of Corrective Asphalt.
“Some vehicles have more severe material buildup than others. There are vehicles that have the gray film that easily washes off and then there are vehicles that have the gray film plus the sticky tar substance in varied amount. Many people are just asking what they can do to clean their vehicles themselves so as they don’t have to go through the process of filling out paperwork and setting up appointments to have their vehicles cleaned.”
“Again we apologize that this has happened and we greatly appreciate your willingness to clean your vehicles yourselves,” Wooten said. “There have been so many vehicles affected it may be several days before the cleanup shops can get to every vehicle and Mr. Ribes is receiving a high volume of calls and it is taking a lot of time to work through all of them. We ask that you please be patient.”
If you want to clean your vehicle yourself Mr. Ribes suggests the following.
"Hot soapy water or a car wash (the earlier one can get to a car wash, the easier it will be to remove) will help remove the dust and debris on people's vehicles. A bug and tar remover will remove any asphalt or tar that is on any of the vehicles. WD-40 works the same as well. "
If you are not satisfied with the service they are providing, you will need to contact the DeKalb County Road Department to file a county insurance damage claim at (256) 845-8585.
