By Michelle Price
Special to the UCBJ
COOKEVILLE – They say that progress can sometimes be painful. Cookeville drivers will soon learn if that is true when major road widening projects begin on two vital city arteries, East 10thStreet and South Jefferson Avenue, with the Rogers Group, LLC doing both jobs.
Cookeville this week accepted the almost $1.2 million bid to widen East 10th Street from Wilson Avenue to Chocolate Drive. Rogers Group’s bid of $1,174,022 was approximately $18,000 less than the city’s estimate.
The project will consist of five lanes and an eastbound right turn lane at Old Kentucky Road and at the 10th Street entrance of the new shopping development. It will also add a traffic signal at Doris Drive and 10th Street. Sidewalks, curbs, gutters and storm sewers will be included along the north side of the street for the entire project length.
Work on the East 10th Street project is projected to be complete next spring.
On the south side of town, South Jefferson Avenue will be widened from north of SR-111 to just south of the I-40 interchange. The contractor for this $39.6 million project is also Rogers Group.
This 2.3-mile project includes widening the 2-lane roadway to 5-lanes (2-lanes each direction with a dedicated center turn lane) and the addition of a 4-foot shoulder in both directions. Drivers will also benefit from improved drainage systems, streetlights, traffic signals, sidewalks and curb-and-gutter throughout.
Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and completion is anticipated in 2024.
