Construction is expected to begin next month on the replacement of a bridge in the Blue Springs community.
The bridge is located on Underhill Road over Sink Creek.
According to Road Supervisor Butch Agee, Concrete Structures, Incorporated of Charlotte, Tennessee was recently awarded a bid to be the contractor for the project. The cost is $310,729.
The project is being funded under the state’s 1990 Bridge Grant Program. The Tennessee Department of Transportation will pay for 98% of the costs to replace the bridge, $304, 514, and the county’s portion will be $6,214 to be funded by the DeKalb County Highway Department.
The job entails the construction of a reinforced concrete box bridge and approaches on Underhill Road over Sink Creek.
Underhill Road is currently scheduled to be closed as of Monday morning, September 14 in preparation for construction. Traffic will be detoured to Jacobs Pillar Road. The targeted completion date for the bridge is January 12, 2016.
The 1990 Bridge Grant Program enables the county highway department to replace or rehabilitate certain bridges when the TDOT commissioner finds that a bridge is structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Typically, the state share is no more than 80% of the approved project cost and the local government share must be at least 20%. However, the County Bridge Relief Act of 2014, provides that counties may use unexpended state-aid bridge grant funds to pay the county portion of project costs. Counties must only provide two percent of the project cost from county funds or in-kind contributions. This funding formula is available for projects initiated in fiscal years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Other bridge projects are also expected to be funded in DeKalb County under this grant program in the coming months.
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