(Smith County Insider Press) Elmwood, Tenn. – This past Thursday night, Mayor Nesbitt organized a public meeting with TDOT officials at the Forks River Elementary School. The meeting began with a prayer from County Commissioner Thomas Allen Gibbs and an opening statement from Smith County Mayor, Michael Nesbitt. Mayor Nesbitt then called on the Smith County EMS Director and EMA Director to inform the community on how emergency response times have been effected by the bridge closure. Following that, Mayor Nesbitt introduced the five people from TDOT that were present, Paul Degges (Chief Engineer), David Layhew (Region 3 Assistant Chief Engineer), Wayne Seger (Director – Structures Division), B.J. Doughty (Directory of Community Relations), and Matt Barnes (Legislative Services Manager).
Mayor Nesbitt then opened the floor to the public for comments and questions. Several citizens spoke out about how the bridge effected their businesses, daily commutes and their safety. TDOT Chief Engineer, Paul Degges, stated that the reason the bridge was shut down, was because there was not an adequate amount of safety built into the original plans for the bridge. Safety is calculated by several factors including the amount of reinforced steel and concrete used, potential traffic weight load, and design. Degges also stated that the contractor that built the bridge was not at fault, because the contractor built exactly the bridge that was engineered by TDOT.
Degges and Layhew explained the process of how the bridge will be fixed, so that it can be reopened to the public. Under the four land piers, they have designed a wall to be built underneath and the three piers that are in the river are going to be reinforced with more concrete and steel. Degges stated that the completion date should be no later than July 31, 2016 and that the contractor has an incentive of $4500 per day for everyday before July 31st that the bridge is completed, with a cap of $400,000.
Degges stated that the estimated cost to fix the bridge was $2.5 million. The original construction cost was about $5.7 million.
After over 2 hours of discussion, Mayor Nesbitt adjourned the meeting. Check out the full length video of the meeting below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlmP-yARXNY
