News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A T-DOT decision will cost Monterey an additional investment to extend water and sewer lines under Interstate 40.
Consulting engineer Nathaniel Green spoke with T-DOT officials last week about the project. He said T-DOT is willing to issue a permit, but they want construction done on the Highway 70 shoulder.
“What that does to us is requires that we do more paving on the shoulder because they’re going to have us pay for white lines to the guardrails there and to follow the guardrails on out,” Green said.
That will require an additional $50,000 to $80,000 in paving, Green said. Green suggested the board rebid the paving to get the best deal in the long run.
Green said he believes it’s more cost efficient in the long run to pay for installing both water and sewer lines at the same time instead of installing the sewer line later. The sewer line portion is not a part of the original contract.
“What this is going to save you from having to do is go back and cut the shoulder again in the future,” Green said. “If you cut it again in the future, they’re still going to require you to pave from the white line to the shoulder. That’s about 11 feet in some places, and that’s a pretty substantial pavement bill if you can imagine.”
The Monterey Board of Alderman voted Monday to spend an additional $130,000 to go ahead with the installation of sewer lines in the area. The town has money from an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to pay for the water lines.
The project will extend lines at exit 300 on I-40 to allow room for new businesses and replace the old lines.
