Christian County commissioners terminate OWN engineering contracts for two bridge projects

Presiding Commissioner Glenn Morris and Eastern Commissioner Bradley Jackson voted to terminate engineering services contracts with OWN (formerly Anderson Engineering) for two bridge design projects — Hawkins Bridge and Redbridge — after the county’s highway administrator said the firm missed deadlines and had not secured required permits.

Highway Administrator Ms. Beetles told the commission that OWN had been working on the Hawkins and Redbridge designs, which were funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars and contracted in 2022, “but it’s gone at a slower pace” and that permitting the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required for Redbridge had not been obtained. She said the U.S. Forest Service told the county it lacked confidence that OWN could submit an approvable package and that the project bid dates had repeatedly slipped, threatening the county’s ability to…