Drawings Delayed In County Transfer Station Project

The Jefferson Avenue Transfer Station renovation project running a tick behind schedule as engineers take extra time to get designs just right.

Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said he initially wanted the project bid out in June. He said the engineering firm and the Putnam County Solid Waste Department continue to fine-tune the smallest details of the design. Porter said the delay should push the completion date back some 30 days, 60 at the most.

“That’s the key, is us making sure we take our time and get it right,” Porter said. “Because everything we deal with is TDEC permitted with the state, so we’ve got to meet all these regulations and guidelines. So we’re just being very careful that we get it the way we want it and we meet all those guidelines.”

Porter said the renovation would add much-needed space and clean up traffic patterns coming in and out of the transfer station.

“Our amounts of garbage that we deal with there on a daily basis has grown,” Porter said. “And so we’re running out of room to be able to handle that garbage and get it out to the landfill in Athens.”

He said upgrades to the 1990s structure will help prepare Putnam County Solid Waste for further growth in the future. Porter said the minor delay changes nothing else about the project, the county will just carry the money over into the next budget and pay for it then.

“It’s been really good,” Porter said. “We’ve got a really good engineering firm and with my Solid Waste Director, we’re just making sure we get everything right, so it’s been a smooth, smooth process so far.”

Porter said with a project this expensive, it is important to get it right the first time.