The sidewalk installation project along N. Chancery Street is moving forward, while the one on Sparta Street has stalled.
Pedestrians will not be walking on a sidewalk on Sparta Street anytime soon. According to McMinnville Public Works Department assistant director Brad Hennessee, that project is stuck in environmental review.
“We met with the state about six weeks ago,” said Hennessee. “The project has been sent back to environmental evaluation. The state has total control over that project.”
The state controls the project because it controls the funding. TDOT awarded the city a $948,080 Multimodal Access Grant in June 2015 for a sidewalk along Sparta Street.
During an update to city officials in November 2016, city administrator Bill Brock said the grant had stopped at the environmental stage and that the city has no option other than wait.
N. Chancery Street is faring better because it is city funded. The project is to install a sidewalk along the street, from the bypass to the intersection of New Smithville Highway, Chancery, and Hobson streets.
Currently, a McMinnville Public Works crew is working to install a sidewalk on Clark Boulevard beside Cleaners Express. The business is participating in the city’s Sidewalk Program. If the property owner buys the concrete, city workers provide the labor for free.
“Cleaners Express is paying for the concrete for the Clark Boulevard sidewalk,” said Hennessee. “The city will pay for the landing at the intersection. The sidewalk on North Chancery will then resume toward Walmart at city expense.”
No date was given for sidewalk completion.