Cocke County awarded funding for safety improvements forWaterville Road

Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan, Jr. has just beenofficially notified that Cocke County has received full funding for safetyimprovements to a 1.1-mile section of Waterville Road in the Hartford communityby the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

In a letter from Paul Degges, Chief Engineer for TDOT,Degges notes that "these improvements include the repair and replacementof the roadway, including ditch and shoulder improvements, paving, andnecessary pavement markings to improve the safety of this facility."

"We are absolutely thrilled with this news!"said McMahan. "This has been a long time coming.

 "Weapplied for a grant to pave a road last year and didn't get it. Grant moniesare getting extremely tight and have been for the last few years. So, back inOctober 2008, I decided to approach our state and our federalrepresentatives. 

 "Working in partnership with Cocke County FinanceDirector Anne Williams, VP of Operations for Cocke County Partnership SherryButler, Newport Mayor Connie Ball, Newport City Manager Scott Collins,Parrottsville Mayor Ronnie Hommel, East Tennesee Development District ExecutiveDirector Terry Bobrowski and his staff, we created a priority list for CockeCounty's economic development projects in document form entitled 'AmericanRecovery Act of 2009: Economic Stimulus Program for Cocke County, City ofNewport and Town of Parrottsville,'" continued McMahan.

"By February, I was on the road meeting with ourstate legislators, Rep. Eddie Yokley and Sen. Steve Southerland, and ourfederal officers, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Bob Corker and CongressmanPhil Roe. After a week of presenting our plan to our Congressman and Senatorsin Washington, D.C., I was back in Nashville a few days every week for severalmonths presenting our plans to various state departments.

"Our 'Economic Stimulus Program for Cocke County'always had the Waterville Road project as our No. 1 priority, mainly for safetyreasons as well as the economic development impact on the county.

"We've received a tremendous amount of assistancefrom various state departments for projects listed in our Program, andespecially from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation.  Thousands of economic stimulus dollarshave been applied to road, bridge and waterline projects here in Cocke County,but because of rules and regulations attached to every federal stimulusprogram, there just didn't seem to be a natural fit for the Waterville Roadproject.

"However, Chief Engineer of the TN Dept. ofTransportation Paul Degges never gave up on us.  He and his staff continued to help us navigate the paths ofred tape to find a solution to our challenge.  Without Mr. Degges and his dedicated staff at TDOT inNashville, this project would not have been funded."

"I want to thank Paul Degges and his staff, and letthem know how much the citizens of our county, the whitewater companies thatdepend on a safe Waterville Road to provide their business, the folks that workevery day at the Progress Energy power plant and the residents of Hartford,truly appreciate all their efforts to make this project happen and helpHardford realize its full potential as a viable, sustainable rural mountaincommunity.

"I also want to offer my heart-felt thanks to CockeCounty Finance Director Anne Williams, Cocke County Partnership RepresentativeLynn Ramsey, and VP of Operations for the Cocke County Partnership SherryButler for partnering with me to win the support of the state departments forthis most important project."

"This is just another example of the dynamic workthat can be accomplished when we work together, in partnership, for the safety,the economic growth and the improvement of quality of life for all ourpeople," concluded Mayor McMahan.

The exact cost of the project is uncertain at this pointbut will exceed more than $100,000. There will not be a dollar match required from Cocke County.