The long awaited Chavies Bridge project will soon be underway. The bid of $1,804,468.00 from Miller & Miller Inc. for the construction of the new Chavies Bridge has been accepted. Miller & Miller Inc. is a Huntsville based company. The Department of Transportation now has sixty days to certify the bid. After the approval, a pre-construction planning meeting will take place to finalize the plans. The estimated starting time for the project is sometime in October. Once the process begins, the contractor will have one hundred working days to complete the bridge. Weekends and bad weather days are not counted in the total working days.
Mountain Valley Newspaper talked with Councilman Bejan Taheri and Mayor Lingerfelt about the bridge project. Councilman Taheri stated, “I am very excited about this beginning because we have worked so hard on this project for the last seven years. The city started the process in 2011 by filing for a matching grant from ATRP. The grant was approved because of safety reasons. The Chavies Bridge is considered a second alternate for Alabama Highway 35. In case of an emergency evacuation at the Bellefonte Power Plant or some serious traffic problem on Highway 35, the Chavies Bridge serves as an alternate route. The bridge is a safety issue because of the weight limit restriction. The current bridge cannot support the weight of fire trucks, dump trucks, eighteen wheelers, and other modes of transportation in those categories.If these type vehicles crossed the bridge, it could collapse.”
Mayor Lingerfelt commented, “This has been a long process, but we are finally narrowing down hopefully finishing in 2019. It is something the community needs for safety in case of emergencies on Highway 35. The new bridge will eliminate the weight limit problem making the Chavies Bridge must safer for all travelers.”
According to Mayor Lingerfelt,eighty percent of the cost of the bridge will be paid for by the state. The city is responsible for paying twenty percent of the cost plus another twelve percent for inspection and engineering fees. The city’s total cost for the bridge will be $580,000.00. The state will contribute the remaining balance. Once the state has completed its due diligence on the contract, the city will pay the state their portion of the bid, and then the state will take full control of the project. The city will no longer be involved in the process. The state will complete the Chavies Bridge project.
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