Dive facts:

• The rule still is that alterations to streets require installing curb ramps for wheelchairs and less extensive work does not.
• The departments of Justice and Transportation got together to iron out what their ADA regulations tell contractors and towns.
• Crack filling and sealing, pavement patching and diamond grinding are among the tasks that are deemed to be just maintenance and not to trigger the regulations, while putting down an open graded surface course, adding an asphalt layer and rehabilitating and reconstructing road surfaces do trigger them.

Dive Insight:

Any regulation that leaves a big hole for interpretation is bound to cause headaches, and the one about adding ADA compliance changes has been big enough to pave a street through. One man's maintenance is another's man's (more expensive for compliance) alteration, and the agencies are trying to make it all clear.