TDOT Officially Opens State’s First Recovery Act Project

JACKSON, Tenn. –Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely joined state and local leaders in Gibson County to officially reopen McMurry Road after the reconstruction of three bridges along the roadway. The bridge replacement project was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and was the first Recovery Act project to get underway. Today, it is also the site of the first ribbon cutting for a Recovery Act funded project in Tennessee.
 

“Today, safer, more modern concrete bridges have replaced three structurally deficient, narrow, timber bridges here on McMurry Road,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “The new bridges will serve the county for the next several decades and because Recovery Act funds were used for this project, the local governments saved close to $200,000 in matching funds normally required for projects like this one.” 

 

The Gibson County project was one of ten local bridge replacement projects included in TDOT’s March 20, 2009 letting. Normally, local governments are required to provide a 20 percent match in order to receive bridge replacement funds; however, that match was waived for projects funded through the Recovery Act. The project was awarded to Ford Construction Company and construction began with the state’s first groundbreaking on a Recovery Act funded project on April 16, 2009. During the job, crews replaced three county owned and maintained bridges. 

 

“Local bridges are a vital piece of any county’s overall transportation system and it’s important to keep them safe and updated,” added State Senator Lowe Finney. “I’m pleased to be here in Gibson County today to reopen this roadway with three newer and safer bridges and I want to thank the Governor and TDOT for this investment in Gibson County.”

 

“This project rebuilt more than just three county bridges, it also employed more than 150 people and used supplies from local businesses, providing an economic boost to Trenton and Gibson County,” said Representative Curtis Halford.

 

All three bridges, which cross Reagan Creek and Davis Creek, were constructed between 1968 and 1972 with wooden, or timber, beams and supports. No reconstruction or major repairs were ever conducted on the original bridges. During construction of the new concrete bridges crews utilized more than 330 cubic yards of concrete; 58,000 pounds of reinforcing steel; and over 2,800 tons of gravel base to build the new structures.

 

“From the paving crew to the surveyors to the men and women who mix the asphalt and drive the dump trucks, this was the first of many projects that put Recovery Act funds to work employing Tennesseans,” said Nicely. 

For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit www.recovery.gov or visit www.tn.gov/tdot and click on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act link in the middle of the page.

###