Bredesen Breaks Ground on Recovery Act Project in Tipton County
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 | 07:15am
State Route 14 to be Widened Using 100% Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen joined House Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh, TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely and officials from Tipton County today to break ground on a project to widen State Route 14, also known as the Austin Peay Highway, from north of State Route 206 to just east of State Route 384. The project is being totally funded through money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“There is no doubt that a quality transportation system helps promote economic growth in communities,” said Governor Bredesen. “This widening project is part of an overall effort to improve the State Route 14 corridor and improve access to this area. This project is also providing jobs for people during this difficult economic time which is a fundamental goal of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
The nearly four mile widening project is one of hundreds or projects in Tennessee funded through the Recovery Act. The SR14 widening project was let to contract on May 8 and awarded to Ford Construction Company of Dyersburg, Tennessee at a price of $13.5 million. When complete, SR14 will be widened to four total lanes separated by a 48 foot grass median with 12 foot outside shoulders. The project is part of an overall widening of 17.7 miles of SR14 from SR385 in Shelby County to SR59 in Tipton County.
“I’m pleased the Governor and TDOT are using Recovery Act funds to take this next step in improving the SR14 corridor,” House Speaker Emeritus Jimmy Naifeh added. “This project will help improve safety and reduce congestion along this heavily traveled corridor between Tipton and Shelby County.”
U.S. Congressman John Tanner added, "We are proud of this investment in West Tennessee's safety and economic growth. Projects such as this will create private sector jobs in the short term and further assist our economic recovery in the long term."
Normally, the state would be required to provide a 20 percent match in order to receive federal funds for the widening project however that requirement is waived under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On this $13.5 million widening project, the state will save $2.7 million in matching funds.
“This is one of nearly two hundred projects in Tennessee that will utilize Recovery Act funds to repair our aging infrastructure and create jobs in our economically distressed areas,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “By the end of July, thousands of Tennesseans will be employed on projects across the state funded through the Recovery Act, including more than a hundred workers on this project alone.”
TDOT staff considered several factors in determining which projects would be funded by the Recovery Act. The most important was that a project be ready to go to construction by July. TDOT also gave consideration to projects that can be completed in three years and are in economically distressed areas. TDOT plans to let all ARRA funded projects by July, which means all ARRA funded projects will be underway this summer. Some 24,000 direct and indirect jobs are estimated to be created or maintained through Recovery Act infrastructure funding in Tennessee.
For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit www.recovery.gov or visit www.tn.gov/tdot and click on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act link in the middle of the page.