A construction project to replace a bridge in Roan Mountain is making progress, and Carter County Road Superintendent Roger Colbaugh anticipates the project will be completed on time and on budget.

Crews have completed the abutments and the bridge deck for the new Main Street bridge in Roan Mountain and are beginning work on the parapets for the bridge sides, according to Colbaugh.

“It is supposed to be finished in September, and I think we will meet that deadline,” Colbaugh said. “Once the parapets are done it won’t be long.”

One side of the bridge features a raised walkway, Colbaugh said, adding the parapet on that side will be higher due to the walkway.

Colbaugh said he had visited the construction recently and was pleased with how the project was moving along.

“It’s going to be a big improvement for the Roan Mountain community,” he said.

The construction crew is working to install the steel for the parapets and will soon begin pouring the concrete. After the parapets are completed, Colbaugh said work will begin on the approaches to the bridge, including paving. Crews have already completed work to improve water drainage around the bridge.

The bridge is a single-span, which means the bridge is supported from the abutments on either side instead of having support structures in the middle also. Colbaugh said that structure helps improve water flow because there is nothing coming down from the bridge into the water that would trap debris.

Colbaugh said the bridge abutments are supported by the bedrock and pouring the abutments went as planned for the project.

“I don’t think there will be any additional or unforeseen costs with it,” he said. “That is an expensive bridge, the way it’s built, but it will be there for a long time.”

The previous bridge was one of several bridges around the county that were placed on a priority list for replacement by the state. The replacement project was funded through the 98/2 program with the state, which has the state putting up 98 percent of the funding for the project while the county only has to supply 2 percent of the cost.

Colbaugh said the original estimated cost for the project was $920,000, but added he doesn’t think it will cost that much.

“Our part of actually building the bridge is going to be less than $20,000.”

Once the bridge is completed, Colbaugh said a bridge inspection team from the Tennessee Department of Transportation will have to inspect it before it can be opened for traffic.