BRISTOL, Tenn. – Completion of the new Anderson Street bridge and opening of a new downtown route over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks is just weeks away, said David Metzger, the city’s transportation planning engineer.
The project began in June 2006. Barring any unforeseen snags, the bridge will be completed months ahead of schedule.
The new structure will provide cars, emergency vehicles and pedestrians a way to avoid long delays caused by slow-moving trains blocking the State Street crossing.
"It’s all weather-dependent at this point," Metzger said Thursday of the opening. "The contract says the job has to be done by June 2008. Obviously, they’re way ahead of that."
Metzger said the 1,100-foot span and its deck are complete.
"They’re down to putting the final layer of asphalt down at each end where the new intersections will be," he said. "The traffic signals will be erected and a little paving work will be done, and it should be complete at that point."
In late October, Harold Martin, the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s assistant regional director, told the Herald Courier, "The way it sits, we hope to have it open by the end of December."
Martin was not available Thursday for comment on the project.
The estimated $5.7 million project will become a major east-west corridor through the heart of the city. Paid for mostly by state and federal dollars, the project includes a four-lane bridge equipped with a 5-foot-wide walkway on each side, and two new intersections with traffic signals at each end.
"The city did contribute funding up front for design and engineering, but it’s been pretty much a state project," said Bristol Tennessee City Manager Jeff Broughton.
City officials expect the number of cars waiting while trains block State Street to drop dramatically when the new passage is complete.
The bridge also will provide a better emergency route for ambulances, fire trucks and police cars – one of the key reasons the project moved forward.
The bridge will connect Edgemont Avenue with Pennsylvania Avenue and cross Beecham, Taylor, Second and Third streets as well as the railroad tracks.
ggray@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement