An ongoing project on I-69E in Brownsville is damaging cars and windshields, according to drivers who use the highway daily.

Crews contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation began repaving 1.3 miles of the highway, leaving the road covered in rocks and potholes. Drivers say the project has turned their commutes into a costly problem.

"From 802 up until International, it takes me about eight minutes or so," Brownsville driver Brenda McKinnon said. "Now it takes me 25 minutes on frontage because there's a lot of traffic."

McKinnon says her daily commute has become a nightmare since the work started.

Other drivers share her frustration.

"They tore up the asphalt and it's just rocks flying on the windshield, scraping up your bumper or your front, your paint chipping and then your windshield is going to get cracks," Brownsville driver Matthew Ramirez McCrary said.

McCrary says even if drivers don't see the damage right away, they can hear it.

"You hear the rocks hitting your windshield, some of them are very loud where it's like it definitely cracked," McCrary said.

TxDOT declined an on-camera interview but said in a statement the agency is repaving the road as a preventative measure to enhance safety and quality.

Drivers say the project is doing the opposite.

Servando Martinez, owner of Carpros Autoglass & Tint, said his business has seen a spike in customers over the last two weeks. Most are coming in because of damage from the expressway work.

"We've noticed that most of them, not all of them, have come because of the damage they've done at the expressway," Martinez said.

Some people need a chip patched, but others need a full windshield replacement. Martinez says the cost can reach hundreds of dollars or more depending on the type of car.

"If it's a brand new, per se, Tesla or Cadillac or something which we have seen, $1,200 to $1,300," Martinez said.

McKinnon said the cost of the damages frustrates drivers.

"It can't be like that, it can't be all three lanes [torn up] like that and for us to have to pay out of our pocket, out of our hard work, to be fixing something that somebody else should," McKinnon said.

The project is expected to be complete in August 2026. Drivers should expect lane and ramp closures from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. If a vehicle gets damaged because of the repaving, drivers can file a complaint with TxDOT online. 

Watch the video above for the full story.