Sidewalk project aims to improve connectivity, accessibility

Click here for updates on this story

    LEBANON, Tennessee (WSMV) — Getting city projects to the finish line, that’s what the mayor of Lebanon said was a major goal when he got into office.

One of those projects is extending the sidewalk about one-third of a mile on each side of a major road.

“It will connect a sidewalk system that’s going to go five miles from the square to the west side of Lebanon,” Mayor Rick Bell said.

This sidewalk project is on Main Street and will fill in the gap where the sidewalk ends in front of the Kroger grocery store, all the way to the Winwood Drive intersection where the sidewalk picks back up.

“While it doesn’t look like a long stretch, if you’re walking next to the traffic that’s going behind me right now that can get dicey,” Mayor Bell said. “So providing them a sidewalk that’s a safe distance from the traffic — that’s a real plus to the people who live in Lebanon.”

The project is all about access and ease for residents of Lebanon.

“There are a lot of people who live in this area who need the sidewalk to have access to a grocery store and other places of business. And there are a lot of people who run and jog and exercise through here. It gets them off the shoulder of the road,” Bell said.

It’s a TDOT sidewalk project. The price tag is over $1.5 million, but TDOT will be footing most of the bill.

“We are moving our utility lines, so that’s the cost we are incurring. But the vast majority of it is TDOT,” Bell said.

The cost estimate for the city is estimated around $200,000 with $172,370 going toward the water lines and $26,449.80 going to the sewer lines.

A pre-construction meeting is in two weeks. The completion date for the sidewalk project is September.

The city is also working on a number of other sidewalk projects. Currently under construction is the replacement of sidewalk on both sides of North Tarver Avenue and the sidewalk on Highway 231 from Forrest Avenue to North Castle Heights Avenue.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.