The Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen kicked off its first meeting with new members by finalizing contracts to two major road widening projects at Highway 31 and Buckner Lane South.
The U.S. 31 widening contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which will be from Duplex Road to north of Thompsons Ridge Road/Buckner Road, included a resolution Monday for the city to commit $892,854 for construction costs as part of its Surface Transportation Program.
According to the resolution, the contract stipulates the city provide 20% of construction expenses to the project, with the STP funds covering the remaining 80%.
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“Every year, the city receives funds from the federal government for the Surface Transportation Program,” Spring Hill Capital Improvement Project Manager Missy Stahl said. “With this addition, the city will have committed a total of $6,405,506.28 with the STP funds and the city’s 20% match.”
In addition, the BOMA also passed a resolution recognizing Thompson’s Station for providing a $15 million financial contribution to the U.S 31 project.
“Part of the advancement of Highway 31 is due to $15 million that Thompson’s Station is going to add to progress the project forward, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize them,” Alderman Vincent Fuqua said.
The Buckner Lane South widening project, which would complete the original widening project began construction in 2023, encompasses the road from Buckner Road to Duplex Road and was initially broken up into two segments. The north end includes 500 feet north of Wades Crossing, while the southern portion includes everything south of that.
The north project, which was awarded to Jones Bros. at a bid of $16,186,559.15, with the BOMA approving a final $17,786,559.15 cost, with the city contributing 10% contingency, which was funded utilizing bond proceeds.
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Monday’s resolution, which will also be funded via bond proceeds, totaled $10,225,697.60, with the city providing a $929,608 contingency and would be contracted to Mastec Civil, LLC for construction services.
“This came in at a significantly lower cost than I was fearful of,” Mayor Matt Fitterer said. “To be at $10 million is fantastic.”
Vice Mayor Trent Linville asked if by hiring a new company to complete the second portion of the project would cause any issue. Stahl said there could be some overlap in the project, but nothing that would cause any unneeded disruption to its completion.
“We have had a meeting with Jones Brothers and they will be working in conjunction with Mastec, because the north and south are going to overlap just a little bit, and they understand that,” Stahl said. “They will work with Mastec well.”
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Alderman Alex Jiminez asked if the contract would include any penalties if Mastec does not meet the project’s turnaround time on the project’s completion.
“There are liquidated damages that will be included in the contract if they do not meet their contract date,” Stahl responded.
“We charge a certain amount each day that they do not hit it. On the north segment, we did have an extension of time request, which was granted to them, but part of it was the city’s fault where it took longer to get the Williamson County approval to remove sceptic tanks on two properties not annexed into the city, and then we had the tornado come through.”
Stahl added that pre-construction on the project is expected to begin in about three weeks.
Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Spring Hill BOMA approves contracts for US 31 Buckner Lane S. projects