Guidance Provided Regarding Government Entity Obligations Under Title II of the ADA To Provide Curb Ramps Upon Resurfacing Of Existing Streets, Roads and Highways

Under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a public entity must install curb ramps where street level pedestrian walkways cross curbs  when a street, highway or roadway is altered.  Alterations include reconstruction, rehabilitation, resurfacing, widening and similar projects.  Maintenance activities are not considered alterations.  Over the past few years, state and local governments sought guidance on whether the use of non-traditional resurfacing methods (methods other than adding a layer of asphalt) triggered the obligation to install curb ramps or would constitute maintenance.   On July 8, 2013, the Departments of Justice and Transportation issued a Joint Technical Assistance specifying what resurfacing is considered an alteration and when the application of certain treatments will be considered maintenance.   

When is resurfacing considered to be an alteration?

Resurfacing is an alteration that triggers the requirement to add curb ramps if it involves work on a street or roadway spanning from one intersection to another, and includes overlays of additional material to the road surface, with or without milling.  Examples include, but are not limited to the following treatments or their equivalents: addition of a new layer of asphalt, reconstruction, concrete pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction, open-graded surface course, micro-surfacing and thin lift overlays, cape seals, and in-place asphalt recycling.

What kinds of treatments constitute maintenance rather than an alteration?

Treatments that serve solely to seal and protect the road surface, improve friction, and control splash and spray are considered to be maintenance because they do not significantly affect the public’s access to or usability of the road.  Some examples of the types of treatments that would normally be considered maintenance are:  painting or striping lanes, crack filling and sealing, surface sealing, chip seals, slurry seals, fog seals, scrub sealing, joint crack seals, joint repairs, dowel bar retrofit, spot high-friction treatments, diamond grinding, and pavement patching.  In some cases, the combination of several maintenance treatments occurring at or near the same time may qualify as an alteration and would trigger the obligation to provide curb ramps. 

The Technical Assistance can be found at:  http://www.ada.gov/doj-fhwa-ta.htm; http://www.ada.gov/doj-fhwa-ta-glossary.htm

2013-07-17T13:45:37+00:00