News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
After months of delays, the new bridge on White County’s Roberts-Matthews Highway has been completed.
White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said the new bridge can now carry more weight. Robinson said the new bridge, adjacent to Highway 111 near the Putnam County line, is a long-term upgrade.
“It’s finally good to get that project done,” Robinson said. “It took a toll on us and has been a lot of aggravations and stuff but we got it done and I’m sure for the people that live in that area it made their lives a lot easier also.”
Robinson said it was a frustrating process even though the county was compensated for the delays.
“It went way over schedule what the contract was,” Robinson said. “Of course, there were some damages that the county got to collect back from it taking longer than it was supposed to but those damages nowhere near offset the aggravation for the people and the trouble that it put us through.”
Robinson said residents will be able to use the bridge to get to Sparta instead of taking alternate routes to get to Highway 111. Robinson said the construction caused inconveniences for the residents in that area.
“It basically cut them off,” Robinson said. “The ones that lived to the north of the bridge basically almost well, not almost they did have to go into Putnam County to get back into Sparta and it just made commuting more difficult and more time-consuming.”
Robinson said even though it took longer than expected for the contractor to complete, the bridge ended up being a good finished product.
“Our Highway Superintendent Jerry Sawyer did a great job of overseeing that and making sure that was done to specs and of course, it took a little longer than what was anticipated but Jerry handled that aspect of it very well.”
