BrandonS,
Keep up the pressure on the State. I work at the County level in the department that deals with this sort of stuff. If your State operates like my State does, they will try to simply outlast you. If the barricades were not up to regs, they should share some responsibilty. As far as you being able to drive around the "road closed" barricade, that's pretty normal as it makes it easier for utility/emergency vehicles to get in. The important points I see are #1 The proximity of the closure notification to the hazard and #2 The barrier specifications not being followed. These rules are in place specifically to help avoid this type of situation. The next thing you should do is get an attorney to draft a letter and/or file a "pending tort claim notice". This should get their attention enough to settle your claim for the cost of repairs plus attorney fees. Generaly you can get an attorney to listen to your problem cheap if not free.
That all said, road closure barriers or any other traffic control device should NEVER be ignored! You could have been killed, and for what? You needed to get to work? You owe it to your family to ignore stupid urges such as this. If nothing becomes of this & you wind up getting stuck with the cost, consider yourself lucky. Sorry to get preachy but more than once I've had to tell parents that their teenager made a bad decision such as this and paid the ultimate price. Ignore these signs and you die, it's really just that simple.
Good LucK!
(Ken gets off soapbox and disappears into crowd)
