RICHMOND—Some utility lines severed during the project to widen State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County could prove costly for a Fredericksburg-area construction company.

Henderson Construction Co. Inc., faces $13,500 in fines from Virginia’s State Corporation Commission for 11 reported violations.

The SCC’s Damage Prevention Advisory Committee yesterday reviewed recent problems with the widening project between Chewning Lane and Gordon Road.

On June 2, a construction crew cut telecommunications lines that affected radiation treatments for 47 patients at the Mary Washington Regional Cancer Center off Route 3. It also affected some 500 residences and businesses in the Chancellor area.

And while Henderson Construction could pay the price, committee members heard that there was plenty of blame to go around.

“It’s been a combination of all parties,” said Frank Gee, quality control manager for Henderson.

Gee and David Henderson Jr. spoke to the committee yesterday morning, answering questions about the cut cables and utility lines.

SCC damage prevention specialist William Angle told the committee that the problem is fairly easy to pinpoint: Henderson Construction is now putting a storm drain in the same place where other, active utility lines currently lie.

“And they shouldn’t be there,” said Angle, who has visited the Spotsylvania site.

But it’s a bit more complicated to fix blame for those live utilities still being in place months after they were scheduled for removal.

Committee Chairman Massoud Tahamtani repeatedly asked: Who’s to blame?

But none of the parties—Henderson Construction, the county or the utilities companies—could point to any one source.

The live utilities lining Route 3 should have been moved months ago, according to Henderson Construction’s schedule. But those utilities are still in place on the road’s edges. And probably will be through the end of this year.

The holdup comes from a host of problems, including delays in getting easements and limited resources in utility companies.

Those circumstances were taken into consideration when levying the fines, Angle told Henderson. The company could easily have faced more than $20,000 in civil penalties.

But because the blame can be shared and because Henderson Construction staff have worked to correct the issues, the commission reduced the fine.

Henderson may come before the committee on Aug. 2 to appeal the findings or ask for the fine to be reduced.

“We’ll probably protest some of it, maybe not all of it,” Henderson said.

Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973 aumble@freelancestar.com