A right-of-way dispute between the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Sligo Marina has delayed plans to let bids for the estimated $30 million dollar project.
The proposal calls for the demolition of the existing Sligo Bridge in conjunction with construction of a new bridge.
Plans are for traffic to continue on the old bridge while the new bridge is built.
According to Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, the situation is complicated by the fact that the marina leases the property from the Army Corps of Engineers, and the dock owners are making demands that TDOT, by law, cannot meet.
“One bump in the road is that TDOT is prevented by law from paying the marina for loss of revenue,” Weaver said at a meet-and-greet held at City Hall last week, “and they (Sligo Marina) are demanding compensation for potential loss of revenue.”
TDOT officials have reportedly been involved in negotiations with the corps and marina owners for several months, and recently made another offer to purchase the right of way.
An answer is expected by the end of the month.
Although preliminary plans called for  the project to be ready for bid letting by now, Weaver said that the worst possible outcome is that construction be delayed until 2013 when the marina’s lease is up with the corps of engineers.
“The corps of engineers has a lease with the marina until 2013,” Weaver said. “If an agreement is not reached, worst case scenario is that we will have to wait until 2013 in order to proceed, and the lease will not be renewed. We have missed two dates, one in December and one in February. It is really out of our hands. It is in the hands of the Sligo Marina.”
In normal cases in which an agreement on a right of way cannot be reached the needed tracts can be condemned, but TDOT cannot resort to imminent domain proceedings in this instance because the state cannot condemn federal property.
Weaver placed the blame for the delay in construction squarely on the marina owners, saying that TDOT was earnestly attempting to get the project underway promptly considering that they can not legally pay marina owners for potential lost revenue.
“TDOT is doing everything they can to move this project forward,” Weaver said. “What’s happening is that the business is trying to hold TDOT hostage. You just can’t do that.”
The project includes plans for replacement of the existing dilapidated overhead truss bridge, and the construction of a new bridge approximately 60 feet north of the existing structure.
The new bridge will be a continuous welded-plate girder design with a composite concrete deck slab and will be 1,545 feet in length. It will boast two 12-foot lanes with 10-foot shoulders.
Construction is expected to temporarily hamper access to the marina, which is located almost under the present bridge.


The present structure was built in by the Corps of Engineers in 1948 as part of the Center Hill project.
It is a seven-span bridge consisting of five high-steel truss spans and two concrete approach spans with concrete substructures.
Officials maintain that the bridge remains safe to travel as long as the posted weight limits are observed.