News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Glenobey Road repairs in Fentress County are about 60 percent finished, with the overall completion date set for November 1.
Fentress County Highway Superintendent Ryan Reed said that all the excavations and vertical wall stabilization are finished. Reed said they are now in the process of building the retaining wall. Reed said that the problem with the road lies in the loose and sandy colluvial soil on which a lot of roads in the area are built.
“Pretty much we was down to one lane on the road and we was just out of room, out of real estate to keep scooting the road over to the cut slope,” Reed said. “So it was just time, time to do something, this road’s been sliding for 50-plus years.”
Reed said the new road will be using stone.
Reed said they are now waiting on their contractor, GSI Construction to build the retaining wall dividing the road in half. Reed said GSI said the retaining wall should be built in ten days, after which his crew will be able to resume building back the road itself.
“We are going to be able to pave the entire Glenobey Road,” Reed said. “So that’s eight miles of new asphalt that we’re going to be able to incorporate with this project also so from Highway 127 to Highway 52, we’ll have a brand new road.”
Reed said that the asphalt is scheduled to be applied sometime during the week of October 20th.
After speaking with community members who said the roads had been sliding since it was built, Reed approached the legislator.
