Contractor’s mistake leaves curb in front of Detroit man’s driveway for 5 months

Help Me Hank comes to rescue of homeowner forced to park in street since June

DETROIT – A driveway dilemma and a serious mistake by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has a homeowner asking Help Me Hank to investigate.

The work done by a local contractor has made it impossible for the resident to pull into his driveway. Hank Winchester contacted city officials, and when they saw for themselves the work that had been done, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Crews are now set to fix the issue.

Pulling into Larry Abbott’s driveway required trying to pop over a curb. What was his first thought when he saw the work that had been done?

“'What the hell is going on?'" Abbott recalled.

A contractor with DWSD sent to put in new curbs tore out the slope at the end of his driveway and instead put in a curb.

It’s been that way since June, forcing Abbott to park in the street. He said he grew tired of getting the runaround.

“I’ve never seen anything so ridiculous in my life,” Abbott said. “I called the city because this needs to be fixed ASAP.”

The mistake will soon be fixed, but it’s still unclear how the contractor could have made such a bad mistake.

You can watch Hank Winchester’s full story in the video posted above.


About the Authors

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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