Cookeville City Council voted Thursday night to begin design for the most difficult portion of the 10th Street expansion, from Fisk Road to North Washington.
The congested one-mile stretch features commercial properties on both sides of the street. City Manager James Mills said the road would be expanded to five lanes with sidewalks on both sides.
“The scope of service includes topographic and boundary surveys, street layout and profiles, cross-sections, storm drainage, design, waterline plans, exhibits and descriptions for right-of-way acquisitions, bid documents, bid analysis, and hydrologic and dynamic analysis,” Mills said.
The civil engineering design phase will take, Mills said, about 18 months with a price tag of no more than $520,000.
Phase two of the 10th Street widening should be finished ahead of schedule before summer. The project started at the Algood Line/Highway 111 going to the Food City project.
“This is good,” Council Member Chad Gilbert said. “The last mile may be the hardest, but the first step is good.”
Clinton Engineering will complete the design work.
In other business, council approved exploring annexation opportunities along Dodson Branch Road. The Planning Commission will consider the idea next, potentially recommending a plan of services for the area. The Planning Division will begin contacting residents and home owners about the benefits of annexation in an attempt to gauge interest.
Council declared surplus a 0.26 acre piece of property at 125 Chestnut Avenue, adjacent to the Cookeville Pediatrics Facility.
On final reading, Council approved the rezoning of land at West Broad Street and Ridgedale from Single Family Residential to Local Commercial.
Council also rezoned property at 1211 South Jefferson Avenue from Regional Commercial to General Commercial.
The city approved the purchase of a new Brush Truck to replace aging vehicles. It could be delivered by the end of May.
