BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The City of Inez will take another crack at finding a contractor to bid on the long-awaited Rockcastle Creek Pedway Project.

Mayor Ed Daniels announced Thursday that he had heard from Kentucky Transportation Alternatives Program coordinator Kim Tompkins.

“She said we will likely need more money, but the new federal infrastructure bill and new state guidelines might help us out,” said Daniels. “She is scheduled to go beg for money next week. In the meantime, she advised the city to get bid documents ready to go; they should be ready by the end of the month.”

The project, born in 2009 and consisting of constructing a pedestrian bridge over Rockcastle Creek from Route 3 near Skeeze Ward Manor to Boardwalk on Route 40, was bid out twice before. The last bids were opened in July 2020 from Fredrick & May for $448,728, Walker Construction $514,859, and M&M Service $638,169.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet records dated Sept. 9, 2019, indicate the amount of federal funding authorized for the project was $662,000. However, in August 2020, Daniels announced that state transportation officials deemed the July 2020 bids too high and were “looking into getting additional funding.”

Daniels announced in December 2020 that Tompkins advised she had found a contractor but would not release the contractor’s name. Daniels stated Tompkins “was excited” and “hopeful that construction would begin soon,” and she needed to work out a couple of details.

The same month, the Martin County Fiscal Court adopted a resolution authorizing a Local Government Economic Development Fund grant application for $36,000 to use toward the project. Then Martin County Judge/Executive Bill Davis said in December 2020 that the prior administration had pledged $36,000 to the project.