Cookeville will spend nearly half of its $2 million paving budget on a total repave of Interstate Drive from Jefferson Avenue to Willow Avenue.
City Manager James Mills said the city has tried to align multiple projects including new sidewalks, a water line replacement, and the correction of the dip in the road near Interstate Drive.
“It’s a pretty significant problem,” Mills said. “Soils are just awful there. There’s not that many companies that have the qualifications to do this, none around here. We’ll be bringing that to you in two weeks.”
Council also approved the creation of a new thru lane at Interstate and Jefferson, which will be part of the repaving as well. Under the city’s proposed budget, council will add some $200,000 to its paving budget in the fiscal year. But Mills said the increased price of oil and gas will likely make paving more expensive.
Mills said the resurfacing of Interstate Drive and the completion of work on Jefferson are expected to resolve major sources of resident complaints.