Cookeville Approves Letter Of Support For Bridge Grant Proposal

Cookeville City Council approved authorizing City Manager James Mills to execute a letter of support for a CRISI grant proposal sponsored by TDOT.

Councilman Charles Womack said Thursday Night that the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant could result in some $5.5 million in repairs for the Short Line Railroad Bridge.

“We’ve been trying to get this done for a number of years,” Womack said. “We’ve made two, $1 million repairs, but it’s still an 1893 bridge. And we’re hoping with all the four counties’ governing authorities that we’ll be able to get effort from TDOT.”

Womack said that the bridge goes over the Caney Fork River in Buffalo Valley. He said that the bridge is still used, but travelers can only travel 20 miles an hour across it.

Womack said that TDOT asked the Nashville and Eastern Railroad Authority to get letters of support. He said this is being done by the governing authorities of Davidson, Wilson, Smith, and Putnam Counties.

“The line is just not up to snuff,” Womack said. “And we’re hoping to improve it a good bit by making it state of the art of with these grants from the federal government administered by TDOT.”

In other business, Cookeville City Council approved the second and final reading to reopen the connection between Salem Church Road and England Drive. The connection had previously been closed by a 2002 city council ordinance.