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TPO approves funding shift to cover roughly $7.48M construction estimate for Northwest Greenway Connector
Summary
The TPO technical committee approved reallocating federal formula and program funds to cover a construction cost increase for Knoxville’s Northwest Greenway Connector from about $2.3M to an updated estimate near $7.48M; TDOT added $2M and staff said the overrun stems from old estimates and multi-year inflation.
The Transportation Planning Organization technical committee on Dec. 9 approved a funding reallocation to cover a substantial construction cost overrun on the Northwest Greenway Connector Phase 2 in the City of Knoxville. Staff reported the original construction funding was about $2,300,000; the current construction estimate is roughly $7,480,000, driven primarily by an original estimate dated to 2019 and years of inflation.
TPO staff said Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has increased its TAP award for the project by $2,000,000 and proposed that the TPO cover the remaining increase by reallocating several local program pots, including TAP, Carbon Reduction, and STBG funds. Staff itemized proposed federal-state-local shifts that include approximately $1,000,000 from TAP, $800,000 from the Carbon Reduction program, and $640,000 from STBG to reach the current estimate. Craig Lipke, the presenting staff member, told the committee this represents “in excess of 220% of increase to the original total project cost.”
City of Knoxville project staff said the increase is not the result of scope creep. “This project, I think we’ve done everything we can. There’s no scope creep,” a city presenter said, adding that the segment is roughly 1.25 miles and will tie into a bridge over Western Avenue and connect to Middlebrook Pike. He said local funds already paid for design and right-of-way and that the request covered construction only.
Committee members asked whether such a large increase is typical. Staff responded that projects with pre‑2019 cost estimates are the most likely to show large increases; Lipke said the project is an outlier but that the TPO’s reserve balances in the relevant programs (as presented) would remain sufficient after the reallocation.
A motion to approve the funding reallocation was made and seconded (mover/second not specified in the meeting record) and passed by voice vote. Meeting minutes record the item as approved.
The committee’s action allows the city to proceed toward letting and construction under the updated funding plan. Staff said they will continue to monitor contingency reserves and cost overruns as the region transitions into the next TIP cycle.
The committee did not record a roll-call vote tally in the discussion on the record; the item passed by voice vote and is recorded as approved.
