Change Order Approved For North Washington Project

Cookeville City Council has approved a change order and cost-sharing agreement for the North Washington Avenue paving project.

City Manager James Mills said the vote comes after an issue occurred while Cookeville adjusted utilities along the roadway.

“Originally it was proposed to do asphalt, but TDOT preferred concrete and we didn’t include that in our original budget, so we had to go back to our contractor to see what that additional cost would be,” Mills said. “What the council approved tonight was doing an amendment to spend that additional money, and also to approve an agreement for Rogers Group to pay a portion of that additional cost that we’re going to incur.”

Cookeville will pay an additional $25,000 to install concrete collars around manholes and valves, increasing the contract price to $86,450. Rogers Group will cover 20-percent of the change order.

Mills said the changes approved by city officials should help speed up the project.

“There was a pre-construction meeting today with TDOT and Rogers,” Mills said. “They indicated that they would start with the project in mid-September and be done by the first of November.”

Cookeville officials expected to have the paving project completed by June.