Gainesboro Receives Grant Funding To Construct New Sidewalk

A new sidewalk and crosswalks coming to Gainesboro that will improve the connectivity of downtown.

The town awarded a $613,000 state grant to construct walkways from the State Route 53 intersection to South Murray Street. Dale Hollow RPO Coordinator Mark Dudney said the town’s work on planning grants lead to this implementation money.

“What those did was to have consultants come in and do assessments about what they needed,” Dudney said. “Those planning grants help communities then implement construction grants like this multimodal grant. So, it has been in the works for a while.”

Dudney said like many Upper Cumberland communities, walkability is an issue. Dudney said this project will improve the pedestrian access to its main grocery store and make it a safer walk from the downtown area.

“A lot of these communities in the Upper Cumberland were designed in the 19th century and so, issues such as modern freight traffic and so fourth,” Dudney said. “Having planning ahead of time and then implementing these sidewalks, Livingston is a good example. It takes a while, but it really pays off.”

Dudney said the next step is for TDOT to issue the contract for work. Dudney said the state will manage the project.