Unexpected damage leads to more delays in Chattanooga's riverfront

Waterfront work continues at Ross's Landing Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
Waterfront work continues at Ross's Landing Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
photo Waterfront work continues at Ross's Landing Wednesday, October 7, 2015.

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Repairs on Chattanooga's sinking 21st Century Waterfront begin this week Major makeover in works for one of Chattanooga's most confusing intersections

Repairs to Chattanooga's crumbling riverfront will take longer than expected after engineers unearthed new issues with the steel and concrete structure that undergirds Ross's Landing, city officials said Friday.

Officials initially said repairs would be finished in time for this year's Riverbend festival in June, but now work is expected to continue to Jan. 1, 2016, said Chattanooga Public Works Administrator Lee Norris.

As a result, the city is renegotiating its agreement with Smith Contractors, the company that was awarded the construction job, Norris said. The Chattanooga City Council will hear this change order at its Nov. 3 meeting.

"We knew there were some other problems," Norris said Friday of the infrastructure on Ross's Landing, "but we didn't know how bad they were."

In less than a decade, a 1,000-foot portion of the $120 million 21st Century Waterfront starting sinking into the Tennessee River in several places, jeopardizing the bedrock of the city's downtown renaissance. After the project opened with fanfare in 2005, it has since been scrutinized in court and city audits, spanning debate citywide.

Between Ross's Landing and the Passage, a water feature along the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga taxpayers are on the hook for roughly $9 million in repairs. Norris said the latest problems will cost about $518,000 to complete by the new year.

Norris said most of the initial construction on the landing's hard edge was finished for Riverbend and the remainder was completed last month.

Renegotiations began around June, Norris said, after engineers discovered long concrete beams that started to flex downward on the structure's terrace, creating a bow in the middle.

Going forward, Norris said the plan is to recompact all the area's sidewalks: breaking them into new little pieces, rolling them out in the right places, then pouring in new concrete.

But another dimension to repair delays is accommodating the high-profile activities that happen on the riverfront, Norris said.

"We cleared the area for the Ironman competition," Norris explained. "Head of the Hooch. We look at all of those."

Councilman Ken Smith said Friday afternoon he had not heard of any renegotiations to the contract, which increases the amount of money being spent on repairs but does not exceed the city's budget, Norris said.

"I have not engaged in active conversation on this project since earlier this year," Smith said, "when it was my understanding that it would be complete prior to Riverbend."

Former Mayor Ron Littlefield, who started office as the park was set to open, heard similar projections.

"It was supposed to be finished in June," Littlefield said, "and last time I looked, there was still construction going on."

The construction also struck Allison Gorman, a North Chattanooga resident who notices the rubble every time she walks her dog, Louie. A former journalist who works for an Indiana publisher, Gorman moved to Chattanooga in 1997, just in time to watch the city's revitalization.

For all its wonders and contributions, the riverfront has turned into an eyesore, she said.

"To me," she said, "if you're trying to sell your city, it's like trying to sell your house. You have to maintain it."

Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347 with story ideas or tips. Follow @zackpeterson918.

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