Residents Weigh In On New Anderson Street Bridge

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Now that the long-awaited Anderson Street Memorial Bridge has opened, it is drawing both affection and ire from motorists and nearby business owners.
For some, the bridge is a wide, accessible route over the railroad tracks. Others, however, see it as a wasteful “bridge to nowhere.”
The goal of the Tennessee Department of Transportation project was to improve traffic flow on U.S. Highway 421 through the city and create quicker east-to-west response times for emergency vehicles.
Bristol’s fire and police departments and other emergency response crews had been forced at times to redirect their routes when trains blocked the flow of traffic on State Street.
Although officials say it’s too early to gauge whether the bridge will pay off over the long haul, they agree it should provide safer conditions and quicker response times.
The bridge, with a final price tag of nearly $8.3 million, connects Edgemont Avenue with Pennsylvania Avenue and crosses Beecham, Taylor, Second and Third streets as well as the railroad tracks.

Residents weigh in

Ahmed Usso, a cashier at nearby Joy Food store off Pennsylvania Avenue, said last week that he and his customers call the structure “the bridge to nowhere.”
“It used to be straight – now look, look,” he said pointing through the front window of the store to a few motorists who slowed almost to a stop to make sure they were headed the right way. “See, there’s another one.”
The bridge looks good and probably will help people avoid long waits at railroad crossings, said the Bristol, Tenn., resident.
“In the long-term, it will probably be a good thing,” he said. “But you should have seen it during construction.”
Just then, Raymond Howington, who lives near the bridge, entered the store to pay for his gas and overheard the conversation. He showed his opinion of the bridge by raising his right arm, holding out his fist and giving it a thumbs down.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” Howington said as he dropped his hand. “That stupid curve there [Pennsylvania Avenue as it approaches the bridge], there’s going to be accidents. There’s a bridge at Ash Street just down the road. This new bridge could’ve been designed better, but I guess they have to spend our tax dollars on something.”
Others disagree. Several customers buying gas at the store said they were happy with the new bridge.
“If there’s a train on State Street you can now bypass it,” said Bristol, Va., resident Drew Hewett. “It also allows you to bypass downtown altogether. I do it all the time when I’m coming down [north] on Volunteer Parkway. It saves time.”
Mary Hilton, manager of Intimate Treasures in a small business strip along Pennsylvania Avenue, said the bridge was a bit of a nuisance when it was under construction. But since the dust has settled the hassle will likely be worth it, she said
“I live in Elizabethton, and the time I spend in here [store] it’s hard to tell if the bridge is working the way it should,” she said. “When they started construction – yes, I can tell you, it did bother us. But anything to help people get over the trains – law enforcement or regular travelers – it’s going to help.”

Costs, curves and complaints

TDOT announced last year that the bridge construction cost was estimated at $5.7 million. But when the last drop of paint dried and the bridge officially opened on May 10, city officials reported the total cost at nearly $8.3 million.
The state incurred the added costs mainly from the purchase of rights of way and demolition of nearby structures, said Julie Oaks, TDOT spokeswoman.
Plans indicate that the project affected 25 tracts and required the demolition of three businesses and two residences, she said.
“The right-of-way costs are not included in the construction cost of the project,” Oaks added. “These items are funded separately. It appears the final construction cost will be approximately $6 million. The right-of-way cost to date is $2,294,634. That would bring the total cost to $8.3 million.”
Recently, the Herald Courier received several e-mails citing two main concerns both before and after the bridge opened.
First, the steep grade, which some think could cause problems when there is snow and ice. Second is the fact that only the south side of the bridge has a walkway with a guardrail on top.
The bridge is about 1,100 feet in length. From its lowest point – where motorists drive onto the bridge from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard – to the crest of the bridge, is about 50 feet.
The structure also has a maximum grade of 9 percent. That means for every 100 feet traveled, a vehicle would rise or drop by 9 feet depending on its direction.
Oaks said TDOT’s reasoning behind the 9-percent grade was to obtain minimum clearance over the railroad as required by rail regulations.
“The federal railroad authority requires that all new bridges have a certain vertical clearance to allow the trains to pass underneath safely,” she said. “In order to lessen the grade and still meet the clearance, we would have had a much larger impact on the surrounding property owners.”
As far as its load-bearing capabilities and estimated “shelf-life,” the new bridge was designed for semi tractor-trailer traffic and is designed for 80 years of service, Oaks added.
Finally, there was never a request at any of the public meetings or review meetings to add a sidewalk to both sides or to move the sidewalk to the other side of the bridge, Oaks said.
“A typical roadway section design with a sidewalk on one side was proposed to the city and accepted, and TDOT’s field office checked the area and determined it [north side] did not warrant a guardrail,” she said.

Waiting to cross over

The project was approved in 1999 and the city paid $740,000 for engineering and planning studies. But city funding ended there. TDOT agreed to pay for bridge construction, including peripheral renovations, right-of-way purchases and demolition.
But state funding cuts pushed back the start date.
In July 2003, city officials met with Gerald Nicely, the state’s transportation commissioner, to express a need for the bridge.
TDOT finally went forward, awarding the project to Simpson Construction, of Cleveland, Tenn., in 2006 with a stipulation that the structure would be up and operating by June 30 of this year.
In late October last year, Harold Martin, TDOT assistant regional director, told the Herald Courier, “The way it sits, we hope to have it open by the end of December.”
But that forecast came at a time when unusually warm weather was helping push the project well ahead of schedule.
In mid-February, the state project was still more than four months ahead of schedule, and it looked like construction was about to wrap up. But a severe and lingering cold snap halted work with the project “about 98 percent complete,” Travis Brickey, TDOT spokesman, said at the time.
From that point forward, workers and equipment appeared at the site from time to time, and city and state officials explained that the opening was only weeks away.
Painters dodged raindrops for a few days before the finishing touches were complete and the bridge finally opened on Saturday, May 10, more than a month ahead of schedule.

Officials anticipate benefits

So far, the city’s Fire Department has not had a major call that’s required firefighters to use the new bridge. But the increased width of the Anderson Street Bridge should make it much safer for fire crews, said Jack Spurgeon, assistant fire chief.
“Where we use to run into problems was wondering whether we’d be OK running engines over the next closet bridge for us on Ash Street,” he said. “But the new, wider bridge is definitely going to help. We were running into problems using the Ash Street Bridge. It just doesn’t have the capacity we need.”
Bristol Police Department Capt. Matt Austin praised the new bridge but said not enough time has passed to make a critical assessment of how much the new structure will help.
“We believe it will be a huge benefit,” he said. “But realize it’s going to take time for both us and your everyday motorist to get used to the new route.”
The Bristol Life Saving Crew and the Ambulance Service of Bristol both assist the police and fire departments on calls.
No one from Bristol Life Saving Crew was available for comment Thursday, and an unidentified employee with the ambulance service said the bridge has no effect on their capabilities.
Meanwhile, motorists shouldn’t confuse the current repaving on Anderson Street from the bridge’s west side to Volunteer Parkway or intermittent repaving on Pennsylvania Avenue at the bridge’s east side with the bridge project.
“These are planned TDOT repaving projects, and they’re separate from the bridge construction” said David Metzger, the city transportation planning engineer.
Technically, Anderson Street and Pennsylvania Avenue serve as state Route 34, and Pennsylvania is also part of U.S. Highway 421.
“The conditions out there now aren’t really typical,” Metzger said of the additional paving projects. “But TDOT felt it was a good time since these projects were so close to the new bridge.”
The paving is expected to be completed in early June, Oaks said.

ggray@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512