JASPER, Tenn. – City officials are irritated they will have to pay more because of delays in the waterline relocation project along Highway 41 in connection with the construction of a new bridge across Nickajack Lake.
Gary Cosby of CTI Engineers Inc. asked Jasper Board of Mayor and Aldermen members to increase his $20,000 engineering services budget by $12,500 to cover the expenses brought on by delays.
Part of the delay, he said, involved the final approval of the waterline relocation.
The other concerns a hold-up on the inspection on the relocated lines on each side of the bridge, which the town contracted Chastain Construction in Ooltewah to do.
“We had budgeted six weeks [for inspection] for a total of $15,000, and we gave the contractor six weeks to do the job,” Cosby said. “It was a compressed schedule because we were concerned about how quickly the [Tennessee Department of Transportation] contractor would get in and start digging and possibly tearing up our line.”