Norris sidewalk project completed in a week
Workers from Tri-Star Contracting prepare to pour the concrete for the last section of the new sidewalk in front of the Norris Lions Pavilion and Norris Middle School on Thursday, July 23. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Temporary orange fencing still kept the area blocked off on Monday, but Whited said that should be taken down sometime this week.
The area where the old asphalt sidewalk was removed still must be smoothed down and seeded with grass, so the Norris Farmers Market will set up across the street this Wednesday, Whited said Monday.
No market was held last week because of heavy rain that fell most of the day on Wednesday, he noted.
As for the new sidewalk, “It definitely will be ready by the time school starts next Monday,” Whited said.
The city paid about $4,800 extra to have an extension of the new sidewalk paved up to the Norris Lions Pavilion, he said.
“That money was not in the sidewalk budget, so we paid for that out of our operating budget,” Whited said. “People have been asking for a sidewalk to the pavilion, which until now was just grass.”
During the last City Council meeting, held July 13, the council voted to award a $33,077 contract to Clinton-based Tri-Star Contracting of East Tennessee for construction of the new sidewalk.
The job description did not include removing the old sidewalk, which was done completely by the city’s Public Works Department.
Tri-Star submitted the lowest of the 15 bids for the project, for which the city had budgeted a maximum of $35,000. There was a wide range of bids, including three that were for more than $100,000.
Norris had been considering what to do about the deteriorating asphalt sidewalk for the past 12 years, and for part of that time even had a state “Safe Routes to Schools” grant available to help pay for the replacement.
Bureaucratic restrictions led the City Council to relinquish the grant last year and proceed on its own to come up with a plan and funding for the new sidewalk.
City officials were concerned about the safety of the asphalt sidewalk, as roots from trees between the sidewalk and the street caused upheavals in the surface over a long period, causing it to be uneven and broken in several areas.
The new sidewalk is about eight feet closer to Norris Middle School than the old one, a move that required the city to get an easement from the Anderson County Board of Education to move the sidewalk onto school property.
Most of Norris’ downtown events take place along the sidewalk and in the pavilion.
