News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Overton County’s Carr Creek Bridge project will break ground Tuesday.
The new federally funded concrete bridge will stretch 220 feet with an expected April completion date. Highway Superintendent James Norrod said reports required to use the funds has caused setbacks.
“We have been working on this for five years or better,” Norrod said. “It is a partially TDOT funded. Very little local money is in it. It is just a lot of red tape and takes time.”
Norrod said a ground breaking celebration will be held on September 11th. The much anticipated project will be locally managed to try and speed up the timeline. During construction, people trying to cross Carr Creek must use East McCormick Road or Highway 84.
“It will affect them some,” Norrod said. “People coming north on Rickman Road will need to detour across East McCormick, and of course, the ones on the north side will use Highway 84.”
The total cost is just over $1.6 million. Norrod said the original estimated cost was about $3.2 million. Twin K Construction won the bid for the project in May. Norrod said the current bridge is not in danger of falling, but the county wanted to get ahead on the infrastructure.
The project is funded through TDOT’s High Priority Bridge Replacement Program. HPBRP provides funding for priority bridges not located on the State system of highways for local governments meeting the eligibility requirements.
