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Franklin leaders push for cosmetic changes to TDOT Harpeth River bridge while avoiding a rebid that would delay work
Summary
TDOT has opened bids for the Harpeth River Bridge; Franklin contributed about $900,000 for streetscape enhancements. Residents urged more historic materials and a different pedestrian barrier, while TDOT warned major changes would trigger a rebid and a year‑long delay. The board asked staff to pursue limited, non‑structural refinements.
City staff updated the board July 14 on the status of the TDOT Harpeth River Bridge project and described a constrained path for design changes after TDOT opened bids.
Staff said the design that served as TDOT’s basis dates to a 2019 design review process that included the historic zoning commission and that the city invested roughly $900,000 toward enhancements such as a pedestrian separator, decorative street lights (to be painted 'Franklin green') and a textured form liner for the bridge walls. After public comment and staff follow‑up with TDOT, staff reported TDOT would consider only limited modifications without rejecting bids and rebidding, and that more substantial changes (for example, removing the pedestrian separator or changing core structural elements) would likely require a full redesign and a year‑plus rebid.
"They were totally open to [revisiting railing and staining] but outside of that they were not interested in any major changes without rejecting the project and rebidding it," a staff presenter said, adding that a rebid could also delay the adjacent 96 Bridge work.
Two downtown residents urged the board to press for higher‑quality materials and a design more in keeping with historic Franklin. Joy Morris said the proposed pedestrian barrier would create a "tunnel" look unlike downtown and called for real stone or brick rather than artificial finishes. Mary Pierce, who helped raise private funds for streetscape elements, asked the city to work with TDOT to find a solution that enhances the downtown gateway and said the current renderings were misleading about material quality.
Board members split over whether to risk delay. Several members said they did not want TDOT to rebid the project and risk a long delay but asked staff to pursue limited, non‑structural options—such as alternate form liners, staining, inset city seals and decorative railings—that TDOT indicated could be accommodated without rebiding. Staff said some pedestrian‑side railing changes and color treatments were minor formwork changes TDOT would likely accept; stone veneers up against the roadway would not be permitted because they are not crash‑tested and raise maintenance concerns.
Staff also said the bridge project will remove about 50 homes from a floodplain and that more feedback to TDOT would be useful if the board wants to seek limited refinements before TDOT awards the bid.
Next steps: staff will pursue options that are unlikely to force a rebid, consult the historic zoning/design review group on acceptable form liners and railings, and return with specific alternatives for the board to consider before the bid award timeline concludes later in July.
