Federal funds have been awarded to help pay for 75% of the cost for the replacement of Easterly Bridge on Poplar Springs Road. The bridge was washed away during the floods of Hurricane Helene.
Total estimated replacement costs of the bridge were put at $6.2 million. Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison said that Senator Marsha Blackburn informed him Friday that federal government funds would cover 75% of the cost, just over $4.6 million. Morrison said that the remaining cost will be split between the Greene County and the State of Tennessee. However, Morrison is hopeful that the State may pick up even more of that cost.
There is no timeline yet on when construction would begin or how long it may take.
The current Easterly Bridge was built in in 1986 and spanned the Nolichucky River at Poplar Springs Road at 416 feet in length. The bridge was washed off its piers and lays in the water, nearly fully intact, on the north side of the river. Poplar Springs Road is about 11 miles southeast of Greeneville, and connects the Newport Highway with Bright Hope Road.
Earnest Bridge on the Chuckey Highway remains open as a single lane bridge, and work is continuing on the Kinser Bridge site. That bridge, which was completely destroyed, is expected to be completed by June of this year. And the county opened bids for repairs to Bird’s Bridge which suffered erosion along the base of the piers. The price for those repairs are around $2.8 million and will be covered by Greene County and State Aid funds.
