Gallatin expects to complete crosswalk by early March

By Jim Hayes
Crosswalks at the intersections of Gallatin Pike and The Gap Blvd., and at the main entrance to Volunteer State Community College will be completed by late February or early March according
to City of Gallatin Assistant City Engineer Dwayne Rogers.
“We sent out a bid for advertisement this past Thursday (Sept. 5), said Rogers. “That bid is scheduled to be opened and read at 2:30 p.m., Sept. 27.”
Rogers said the bid included both the installation of electronic pedestrian crossing signals and painting the crosswalks. Once the bids are opened, there are some administrative procedures to
ensure everything looks appropriate before the bid is awarded to the low bidder, he said.
Once the bid is awarded, “we do the reviews, they (the contractors) have to send in performance surety that our attorney has to review, so we’re looking at another three to four weeks for that,”
said Rogers.
Given that timeline, the earliest work could start would be around the end of October. Rogers said that the contract specifies that the work is to be done within 120 working days leading to a
completion date around the end of February or early March.
The project to install the crosswalks started in August 2015, according to an email from Vol State Senior Director of Plant Operations Will Newman. “Vol State made our first appearance before
city council in December 2017 to request PEDEX walkways at the two intersections and a sidewalk on Gap Blvd.,” said the email.
Last March, the electrical, drainage, grading and sidewalk work along Gap Blvd. was completed by the City of Gallatin. In April, the college provided and installed the lights, the email
continued.
The city informed Vol State that pedestrian crosswalk design was complete in June 2019 and the bid package was submitted to the city finance department in August, said Newman’s email.
“This has been entirely a City of Gallatin project,” he said.
Rogers said that the bid includes “everything to complete the project.”
“That includes installing the signals, all the required electrical, all of the pavement markings required in order to complete the project,” he said.