The Oak Ridge City Council on Thursday will consider an engineering contract of roughly $300,000 for pedestrian improvements on Oak Ridge Turnpike and South Illinois Avenue.

Under the resolution to be considered by Council, the $298,800 engineering services contract would be awarded to Kimley-Horn of Nashville.

The estimated budget for the entire project, including both engineering and construction, is about $975,811. The work is being funded mostly with a Tennessee Department of Transportation Multimodal Access Grant of $927,021.40, Oak Ridge City Engineer Roger Flynn said in a May 24 memo to City Council members. The grant money will be allocated in three phases during a three-year period.

A 5 percent match of $48,790 is required, Flynn said. [Read more…]