A state Department of Transportation official said a subcontractor milling and repaving the northbound span of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge erroneously opened one lane early Monday morning before the asphalt dried, resulting in a tar-like substance sticking to hundreds of vehicles.

Kevin Nursick, a DOT spokesman, said Tuesday that the subcontractor, Sealcoating Inc. of Braintree, Mass., has taken responsibility for the mistake and will fix damaged cars through its insurance coverage.

"This is not your typical DOT claim, where someone fills out a complaint about getting a flat tire after driving through a pothole," said Nursick. "Typically, those claims never get paid out. This scenario is completely different, and we are standing by the public on this one. The DOT is not going to abandon the public on this one."

Nursick said complainants should contact Sealcoating's insurance company, Acadia at (800) 870-1170 ext. 2378 before making repairs. If repairs have already been made, call anyway.

The contact person is Matt Stopa; he can also be reached at matt.stopa@acadia-ins.com. People are asked to reference claim number 20203020. 

Andrew Kosky of Niantic said he was driving his brown 2006 Lincoln Zephyr over the bridge around 6 a.m. on his way to the Shennecossett Golf Course.

As he was driving over the bridge, his windshield became smeared with a black substance.

Windshield fluid appeared to clear that up, but when he got out of the car, the substance was all over his vehicle.

Kosky said he didn't think much of it and decided he would wash the car when he got home.

"It wasn't budging," said Kosky. "It's all over my grille, all over my lights, all over the sides. It's caked on my wheels. Thank God, it wasn't my wife's car. It's white and only a year old."

Graham Mugovero of Waterford said he was driving in the center lane on his way to work at the Pequot Health Center when his brand new, three-month-old Buick Regal Turbo was suddenly sprayed with the substance.

He said his nearly $40,000 car doesn't look new anymore and has damage nearly everywhere, including the undercarriage.

"My car was red," said Mugovero. "Now, it's red, gray and black."

He said he would be going Tuesday to the MJ Sullivan dealership in New London to get an estimate on how much it would cost to fix the damage. He said it was going to take more than cleaning solution to clean the car and ensure that no scratches are left behind.

After driving over the bridge, many people went to local car washes like Submarine Car Wash in Groton, to get their cars cleaned — to no avail.

Jose Reyes, a employee at the car wash, said at least 10 customers went to the shop to get the asphalt removed from their vehicles.

"Yesterday was crazy," said Reyes. "People were complaining. They put their car through the wash a couple times and it wouldn't come out."

He said one man paid $100 to get his car cleaned. He said it took workers several hours to remove the substance.

Scarlett Driscoll of New London said she left her car at the Submarine Car Wash so that it could be cleaned properly.

She said she was driving to her job at Home Depot in Westerly around 5:30 a.m. when she noticed the roadway looked wet. She didn't think much about it until she got out of work at 6 p.m. and noticed that a black substance covered the lower panels and wheels of her 2013 370Z Nissan.

"My car was sitting all day baking in the sun," said Driscoll. "There's a fine film on the car. You can feel it with your hand."

The $7 million pavement preservation project started months ago in the New London, Groton and Waterford areas. Tilcon, the prime contractor, hired Sealcoating Inc. to do the repaving and milling work on the bridge. The project is slated to be completed by next month.

Nursick said a quarter-inch of asphalt was being applied to three lanes of the northbound span of the bridge. The work started during the overnight hours and had to be completed by 6 a.m. Monday.

He said two lanes had properly dried, but for some reason the third lane was reopened before it was cured.

"The bottom line, traffic was put on the newly paved lane too soon, resulting in the material sticking to cars," said Nursick.

Nursick said pavement preservation projects are done as an "early intervention" to extend the life of the roadway. He said it's more cost-effective and saves the department 20 percent in overall road maintenance.

Nursick said the material stuck on the cars is a water-based emulsion and should come off with a citrus-orange cleaner.

Troop E in Montville fielded 30 calls that were referred to the DOT. Nursick said he personally received around 40 email complaints.

He said he is calling people back to let them know their cars will get fixed.

i.larraneta@theday.com

Twitter: @larraneta