News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Obey River Bridge project on State Route 53 in Clay County is officially completed.
TDOT Spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn says contractors finished the inspection process last week after some minor adjustments were needed.
“What the project did was [crews] sandblasted and repaired the existing steel substructure, and they repainted it all,” Flynn says. “The bridge itself had an asphalt surface that was taken off. They did partial deck repair on the bridge deck and then replaced the expansion joints before the new asphalt was put down.”
Navigation lighting was also replaced on the bridge for those traveling on the river. Flynn says although the project began in November of last year, crews faced some minor setbacks along the way.
“[TDOT] had some issues with scheduling their subcontractors so they were assessed some liquidated damages,” Flynn says. “They got that resolved and eventually it got completed, and the original completion date was Aug. 31, so they got it done the first of October, so that’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things.”
Flynn says the bridge has likely been open in some capacity since crews finished the initial portion of the project last month. The total cost of the project was just over $1 million.
