News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Baxter officials hope to begin constructing the Elmore Town Road Bridge by spring break.
Mayor John Martin said the project has faced several delays.
“The problem we’ve got with Elmore Town Road Bridge is we are still trying to acquire signatures from property owners to get authorization on that,” Martin said. “The biggest problem we’ve got is weather. It’s tough getting this built in the winter time with everything else that we’ve got going on right now.”
City Engineer Tom Bennett said an asbestos study on the old bridge will also need to be submitted to TDOT before the city gets the green light to begin the project.
“They [TDOT] would then go through their process to issue and agreement or a contract between the state and city. That contract cannot be prepared before this report is completed,” Bennett said. “Once that contract is approved, then the city could enter into procuring the stuff or the equipment for the bridge.”
Martin said he would prefer to see construction take place during spring break.
“It’s much easier to do it during spring break when you’ve got two weeks, because I feel like we can complete the project during that time,” Martin said. “There’s no school bus traffic going around there and really that’s the ideal time of doing it.”
Bennett said the bridge is designed to be constructed quickly. Officials estimate that city crews will be able to complete the project in about two weeks.
The original bridge was built in the 1970’s and over the years it started to become a safety concern.
The board of mayor and aldermen decided to take up the project a few years ago, but funding issues caused a delay in the project. The city will be using state aid bridge funding and $17,000 appropriated by the county some 8 to 10 years ago.
