Work to replace the worst bridge in Warren County will begin this month. 
A preconstruction meeting for the bridge over Small Branch on Old Shelbyville Road was held Wednesday at Warren County Highway Department. Rogers Group was presented a notice to proceed with a start date of Oct. 30.
The new bridge will be built downstream from the existing one. Motorists will continue to use the old bridge until new bridge construction, as well as a new section of roadway to tie into the bridge, is complete. Traffic will then be diverted.
Prior consideration was given to replacing the bridge in its original spot. Warren County Road Superintendent Levie Glenn says that would not straighten the curve.
“We wanted to straighten that curve,” said Glenn. “This will straighten the curve and widen the bridge.”
Currently, motorists have 18 feet, 9 inches from the inside rails of the current bridge. The new one will be 28 feet wide from the inside rails.
Replacement cost is $724,919, which was the bid submitted by Rogers Group. Funds will come from the governor’s Improve Act, which raised the gasoline tax but also dropped the sales tax on groceries.
“The Improve Act puts money back in the pockets of all Tennesseans and has already helped us attract manufacturing jobs to Tennessee – all while putting us on the path to deliver nearly 1,000 road and bridge projects across the state,” said Gov. Bill Haslam, upon signing the act in June. “The Tennessee we can be provides not only access to opportunity but the tools to be successful. Good roads that take you to good jobs.”
Per the contract, Rogers Group has 180 days – making completion on or before April 28, 2018.