News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Sparta Public Works Department has completed drainage ditch upgrades on Allen Drive near White County High School.
Director Dillard Quick said the old tile in the ditch needed to be replaced as it had rotted over the years. He said it was about 48 inches long.
“We were afraid that with buses going across that tile it could possibly fall in,” Quick said. “We planned this for the month of July to go in and replace that tile with concrete tile.”
Quick said a concrete tile could more than double the time between repairs. He said metal tiles typically last about 20 years until they rot out, whereas concrete tiles can last up to 50 years.
Quick said the city uses a camera to try and prioritize these types of projects and do them on a semi-regular basis. He said the chose to do this drainage ditch repair because Allen Drive is on the city’s paving list for next year.
“Once we go in there and dif it out I don’t want to see it again and I don’t want the next guy to have to see it after me so we’re putting concrete tiles in,” Quick said. “It costs a little bit more, but at the same time you don’t have to dig it out again in 20 years.”
Quick said they strategically chose July because school is in session all other times of the year, with summer school in June and the regular school year beginning in August.
