Bypass work will restart this month

Tennessee Department of Transportation says work should resume on the Shelbyville bypass April 26 following the replacement of a grading subcontractor.

B.J. Doughty of TDOT said the change should not have any impact on the bypass's planned completion date next year.

Work stopped in early March when Thomas & Associates, a subcontractor for primary contractor Wright Paving Contractors Inc. of Fayetteville, went out of business. The subcontractor works for Wright Paving, not for TDOT.

At the time in March, TDOT said Wright Paving would have a new subcontractor lined up within a week. But callers to the Times-Gazette reported that work had not yet resumed on the project.

Doughty said Wright Paving assured the state on Monday that it would sign final paperwork with a new subcontractor on Tuesday, and the new subcontractor's schedule shows work resuming on April 26, with no impact on the completion date. Doughty said the name of the subcontractor would be available after papers were signed.

The bid of $14,283,873 for the bypass was awarded last June to Wright Paving. The bypass is one of 119 road projects in 64 counties throughout Tennessee funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The bypass will connect U.S. 231 north of Shelbyville to U.S. 41-A east of Shelbyville.