| Harrison Road project
finally a go
Jeremy Nash News-Herald.net City Administrator Amber Scott said the Tennessee Department of Transportation in November gave city officials the go-ahead to begin the construction process on Harrison Road. Bids were opened for the project Dec. 8, and Scott said the apparent low bidder is Charles Blalock & Sons Inc., at a little more than $2.7 million.
Knoxville-based Duracap and
Kodak-based Whaley and Sons also
presented bids.
Scott said Lenoir City Council
must approve the bid at a
meeting this month. The next
step would be to send a letter
of concurrence to TDOT and hold
a pre-construction meeting.
“I would say each person that’ll
be on the project already has in
their mind this is what I’m
going to do,” Scott said. “Now,
with that being said, at the
pre-construction meeting if
someone from the city or (Lenoir
City Utilities Board) or the
schools — this is a chance for
them to throw out something that
they may not have thought about
because of their proximity to
the project. So I think after
that meeting we’ll have a better
idea of the plan of attack for
that.”
In total, 18 parcels and 12
property owners are impacted by
construction on Harrison Road,
Scott said.
The plan is to place turn lanes
at the intersection in front of
Lenoir City High School heading
each direction, widen the road
to 20 feet and form three lanes
beside the school, with two
through lanes heading toward
Town Creek.
Completing the right-of-way
phase took longer than
anticipated in part because TDOT
needed to approve every step
along the way, Scott said.
“We got into this situation
where all of our permits with
the federal agencies had to be
recertified,” she said. “We got
into a waiting period with one
in particular (agency) ... but
we waited several months on them
to get a re-approval. And then
it had to be sent to Nashville,
from our local agency here, had
to be sent to Nashville to be
approved.”
Working with property owners
through the appraisal process
also took a while. Scott said
the city deliberately worked
slow to be “very sensitive” with
residents affected.
Construction is anticipated to
begin in February or March and
take roughly 13 months. Scott
said the contractor will do a
big portion of work during
school breaks. A “plan of
attack” will be better formed
after the pre-construction
meeting, she said.
“I mean you have to break a few
eggs to make an omelet,” Scott
said. “We believe that what few
inconveniences that will come
out of the construction of this
improvement will pale in
comparison to the future
positive impact that will take
place on that area with the
residential boom that we’re
experiencing along Harrison Road
paired with the commercial boom
that we sort of see the
potential for as time passes.
“So we think while, yes, it will
be inconvenient, all
construction projects are — the
benefits will far outweigh the
negative,” she added.
The Harrison Road project is
afforded through an 80-20
percent grant for $3.2 million,
with the city and county paying
10 percent each for the local
match.
Councilman Jim Shields said the
project will benefit the city in
the long run, and getting this
widening done has been a “long
time in the making.”
“Hopefully, the contractors will
work with the school system on
controlling the traffic and
getting them in and out of the
school,” Shields said. “That may
be a big nightmare, I don’t
think it will be, I think it’ll
be move smoothly. It’s supposed
to be a good thing when it’s
finished.”
Simpson speed bump?
The plan to widen East Simpson
Road from U.S. Highway 321 to
Shaw Ferry Road is taking city
officials longer than
anticipated. Scott said the city
is having difficulty finding
companies able to do title work.
The project affects 15 parcels
and 10 property owners.
“I want to have that title work
completed by February. I mean,
that’s my goal,” Scott said. “If
I can get somebody to do it, I
don’t think it’ll take them that
long. And then we’ll have to go
in the appraisal and review
appraisal phase, and then
ultimately meeting with them,
with the property owners.”
Hopes are to widen the road from
20 feet to 26 feet, along with
improving pedestrian access by
installing a sidewalk.
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1/9/16