County approves construction of Beersheba Street Bridge

The Warren County Commission voted unanimously Monday night to approve construction of the new bridge over the Barren Fork River on Beersheba Street near Bridge Side Market.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) formally requested the county to pass a resolution in a letter to County Executive John Pelham last month. Pelham then called a meeting of Highway and Bridge to vote on the issue before county attorney Larry Stanley drafted the resolution.

Pelham said the county should be able to return the resolution well in advance of the project.

?When the state sent us this letter we contacted them and asked if the December meeting would be sufficient, or whether we needed to call a special meeting,? Pelham said. ?We informed them of our court dates, and they said December or January would be fine.?

The resolution simply states the county will agree to facilitate the construction and provide necessary right of ways for the project.

The Beersheba Street Bridge project is one of three TDOT has in the works within McMinnville city limits. The first project is the Beersheba Street Bridge, which will be followed by the Ernest Crouch Memorial Bridge over Big Hickory Creek on Morrison Street. The third project will replace the Fernando C. Boyd Bridge on Morrison Street which crosses the Barren Fork River at Riverfront Park.

The Warren County Commission will eventually be required to approve all three projects prior to construction, but so far has only received a request from the state on the first project. According to McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport, the city has already drafted and passed legislation approving the three projects, all of which are located within the city limits.

?On all three bridges we signed a contract with the state saying we would not interfere and would do anything we could to help them,? Davenport said.

According to officials, work on the Beersheba Street Bridge project should begin early next year.