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A pre-construction meeting was held at the museum in Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park on Dec. 16 to discuss the upcoming bridge project with representatives from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the Park Service, Dement Construction and others present.

The project will involve replacing the bridge on Campground Lane with a new structure made of concrete and steel beams and relocating the existing truss section up the river to connect to the trail system.

The existing bridge will be moved by truck to its new location fully assembled.

The primary contractor for the project is Dement Construction out of Jackson, Tennessee. Dement specializes in road and bridge construction.

“One of the biggest things I wanted to talk about today was the environmental side of this project,” said Clint Carpenter, the Lead Supervisor with TDOT for the project. “We have a lot of environmental commitments, so I wanted to cover these.”

Among the environmental commitments listed by Carpenter were a fish sweep for Hellbender salamander and no in-stream work between April 1 and June 15 to protect spawning season.

Other commitments included are for work to only be done Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Grissom Road Trail must remain open throughout construction for public use, and signage must be posted throughout the park in regard to the project.

An environmental walkthrough will take place during the week of Jan. 6th and preparation for clearing will begin in mid- to late January depending on weather.

The estimated completion date is Sept. 30, 2026.