RIO HONDO – A Rio Hondo man says the contractors restoring the city’s historic bridge are destroying his property.

Many people in the Rio Grande Valley are looking forward to the completion of the Rio Hondo Bridge restoration, including Miguel Medrano.

“This company has caused problems to the house,” says Medrano.

Medrano lives directly next to the historic bridge. The company he’s referring to is a private contractor hired by the Texas Department of Transportation to restore the bridge.

Medrano told CHANNEL 5 NEWS that he’s less than pleased with the changes they are causing to his home.

“The main damages were on the tile. Not sure if the damages are coming from the foundation or underneath,” Medrano explained.

Medrano said the cracks running along his home’s floor and walls happened after the contractors began working on the bridge.

He added a paint-like film is covering his vehicles. Medrano filed a claim with the contractor’s insurance company, which was denied. So he hired someone else to take a look.

“And he told us it was due to vibrations,” says Medrano.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to TxDOT. They confirmed the claim was denied.

Medrano says he doesn’t feel his family should be stuck paying the bill for problems they didn’t cause.

So we headed to Chris Brasure, an attorney that specializes in property claims.

He tells us anyone who finds themselves in Medrano’s shoes can sue the contractor for damages.

They’ll have to prove the contractor trespassed. “What a lot of people don’t know is that there can be a trespass without a person or a vehicle actually entering another person’s property,” Brasure explained.

Brasure said cases like this aren’t uncommon. He told us heavy construction equipment can often cause damages to neighboring properties.

“When they operate they generate a lot of energy and that energy goes straight into the ground and it can move over into an adjacent piece of property and cause damage,” Brasure said.

Brasure says if the property owner won the case, the contractor would be forced to pay them for the damages, not their insurer.

Medrano told CHANNEL 5 NEWS he is willing to do what needs to be done to preserve his family’s home.

Medrano adds he is working on getting estimates for all the damages to his home caused by the contractor.