Audio clip
Steve Leach
With one downtown waterfront problem fixed with the reopening of the Passage this week, city officials are shifting attention to another potential million-dollar repair job nearby.
Cracking and other problems are surfacing on the concrete edge where boats dock along Ross's Landing. It may be necessary to build an expensive temporary dam so workers can do the renovations on dry land, officials say.
The Tennessee Valley Authority also may be required to regulate the level of the Tennessee River for the work, officials said.
"It will be expensive, for sure," said Steve Leach, the city's public works administrator.
WATERFRONT PROJECT
The $120 million 21st Century Waterfront Project was commissioned by former Mayor Bob Corker.
Dan Johnson, Mayor Ron Littlefield's chief of staff, said the city will need to address problems at the dock site and may have to pay for the repairs.
The popular Passage attraction reopened after a $1.6 million, two-year fix. But a study of the concrete dock area immediately downstream found five points of concern near support pilings in the Tennessee River.
Those problems include concrete cracking and falling away, uneven settling and failure of the retaining wall system, officials said.
The city already has spent $50,000 to look at problems above and below the waterline.
A city engineer has said the work could cost more than $1 million, including the cost of the cofferdam.
Mr. Johnson said work to fix the concrete docking area might not begin until next year.
Mr. Leach said much of the area where problems were identified was underwater for much of last winter and this spring after heavy rains.
He told the Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corp., which oversees projects in the area for the city, that the repairs also will be time-consuming.
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Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press Repairs may be necessary for the boat dock area near the Passage.
How the fix will be funded, he said, may depend on what happens in a lawsuit that the city brought last year against the 21st Century Waterfront Project's designer, builder and developer.
One of the three defendants, nonprofit downtown redevelopment group RiverCity Co., which oversaw the building of the Waterfront Project for the city, has countersued.
City attorney Mike McMahan said the contractor and architect also have sued subcontractors and suppliers. He said the parties in the suit are in the initial phases of legal proceedings.
"It's a big, unhappy family," Mr. McMahan said.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories:
Article: Chattanooga: The Passage reopens after 2 years
Mike Pare, the deputy Business editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, has worked at the paper for 27 years. In addition to editing, Mike also writes Business stories and covers Volkswagen, economic development and manufacturing in Chattanooga and the surrounding area. In the past he also has covered higher education. Mike, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Florida Atlantic University. he worked at the Rome News-Tribune before ...
When the city builds something does it not come with a warranty?
Its called accountability and it goes straight to the bureaucrats in the Public Works Dept of the City of Chattanooga. Is it possible to actually fire someone who works for the city because they do not do their job? You know, actually accountable for what they do? Who supervised this project?
and... Go walk the newly rebuilt Market Street bridge and see the failing/cracking concrete. Who is going to pay for those repairs on something that is not even 2 years old?
thank your city fathers and the local politboro who were in charge when the contracts for this work was signed,they hired their cronies in the cut-corners,non-union,"git sumthin'dun!",suck-up-the-government money clique, i won't name names but the head pusher for this project is now one of our state senators .
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