The bridge name pulled from consideration by county officials on Monday, Sept. 21, was the Nurseryman’s Bridge, not the bridges being named after Eric Frazier and Joe Lynn Delong.
“Both of those bridges have been approved,” said Commissioner Gary Prater of the Frazier and Delong bridges. “I pulled the Nurseryman’s Bridge from consideration. There’s a little something that’s come up and we thought it would be best to withdraw that for right now.”
The bridge up for name consideration as the “Nurseryman’s Bridge” is located between the two bridges which will be named for Delong and Frazier. Those names have already been approved by the full Warren County Commission and are pending approval from the state, which should be routine.
Prater stated he would rather not disclose the reason why he pulled the naming of the third bridge from consideration.
When questioned about speculation the county had received a complaint that one of the bridges was supposed to be named after a local family per a land negotiation agreement with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Prater admitted the Highway Department has received such a complaint. 
“We did receive that complaint,” said Prater. “If it was true, we didn’t want to do something to interfere with that agreement.”
According to TDOT spokesperson Jennifer Flynn, there is no agreement because TDOT does not have to authority to name bridges or roads.
“I’ve sent a request for info to a few of our people, but I don’t think we even have the authority to negotiate such a deal,” said Flynn, when first contacted about the situation.
After making those inquiries, Flynn added, “As I suspected, we don’t have the authority to negotiate such a deal with a property owner. The naming of roads, bridges, etc., has to come through the Tennessee General Assembly.”
The county must receive state approval when it desires to name a state highway or a bridge located on a state road after an individual or organization. A resolution must be passed and sent to the state for approval.
Given what might be an issue with communication concerning the third bridge, the naming of it as “Nurseryman’s Bridge” is on hold.
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m against naming the two bridges after Eric Frazier and Joe Lynn Delong because I’m not,” said Prater. “Those have already passed. The naming of the Nurseryman’s Bridge is on hold.”
The Standard apologizes for any confusion that may have been created from a story published about the bridges on Friday.