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Kidd Lane/Beard Mill bridge project receives bids; county leaders urge support for transfer-fee bill
Summary
TDOT bid openings indicate a likely $13.8 million contract for the Kidd Lane/Beard Mill Road bridge project; commissioners were briefed that federal and state funds will cover the bridge construction and that the county had already completed approach work.
The State of Tennessee took bids Feb. 7 for the Kidd Lane/Beard Mill Road bridge over the Elk River; county Highway Superintendent Tim Gill told the commission on Feb. 18 that the apparent low bidder was Jones Brothers with a bid of about $13.8 million for the bridge and associated roadway work.
Gill said there were three bidders and the state typically takes three-to-four weeks to award such projects; he told the commission the project will likely move forward and construction could take roughly 18 to 24 months. The county has already completed the local approach work — using ARP funds to grade and build the portion the state would not fund — and the county’s construction portion is essentially complete, Gill said. He also said the new alignment will take the new road out of the 100-year floodplain and that the Beard Mill Bridge corridor would be reconfigured with a cul-de-sac to preserve property access near the cemetery.
Gill told commissioners that federal funds will pay about 80% of the bridge cost and the state (TDOT) will pay the remaining 20%, meaning Lincoln County will not bear the state-local match for the bridge itself; the county’s prior investments in the approach work were noted as a local cost (discussed as about $600,000 in the transcript).
Separately, multiple commissioners urged constituents to contact state lawmakers in support of pending legislation (House Bill 649 / Senate Bill 1080 as referenced in the meeting) that would return a portion of real-estate transfer fees to the county where they are collected. Commissioner Glenn Douglas summarized the legislative outreach, saying the county’s five-year average of transfer-fee revenue is roughly $490,000 per year and that the proposed bill would direct a portion of transfer fees back to counties and allocate half of such funds for roads and bridges.
Nut graf: The bridge bid opens a multi-year construction project funded primarily by federal and state sources but bolstered by prior county approach work; commissioners also highlighted a legislative priority to return more transfer-fee revenue to counties to support local infrastructure.
Ending: The commission will monitor the state’s bid-award process; commissioners encouraged residents to contact their state representatives in support of the transfer-fee bill.
