By Iva Butler, The Daily Times

Two road projects serving Alcoa industry, ProNova and TeamHealth, are scheduled to start early this month.

The low bidder on both Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) projects was Blount Excavating Inc. of Garner Circle, Maryville.

The Pellissippi Place road extension serving ProNova is slated to begin Monday, said Alcoa Assistant Director of Public Works and City Engineer Andrew Sonner.

The low bid on the approximately 2,065 feet of roadway was $6,509,089.

The project will consist of extending the four-lane Pellissippi Place roadway with three round-a-bouts, sidewalks, Greenway Trail extension, utilities, street lighting and landscaping to serve ProNova and future development.

Completion of the project is set for a little over a year from now, Sept. 1, 2015.

ProNova Solutions is a medical science company that is investing $52 million in Pellissippi Place Research and Development Park.

The boulevard extension is being paid for by four sources. A State Industrial Access Grant through TDOT will pay for roadway infrastructure. An enhancement grant from TDOT will pay for sidewalk/pedestrian infrastructure. A FastTrack Infrastructure Development Program money will finance utility infrastructure and an Economic Development Administration grant will also pay for roadway and utility infrastructure.

Wrights Ferry

On Aug. 11, Blount Excavating is scheduled to start work on Wrights Ferry Road.

This is a $1,743,129 project that will be approximately 1.1 miles.

Wrights Ferry will be closed to all but local traffic for the duration of the project.

Workers will be making left turn improvements to Base Pointe Business Park and shifting Wrights Ferry Road to realign it to match up with Lark Circle to take care of any future development in that area, Sonner said.

There will be a new signal installed at Topside and Wrights roads. The remainder of the work will be widening and paving.

There are two funding sources for the project. State Industrial Access Grants through TDOT will pay for roadway and drainage and infrastructure improvements. FastTrack Infrastructure Development Program will finance signal infrastructure at Topside and Wrights Ferry roads.

Work is scheduled to be complete on or before May 1, 2015.

TeamHealth is a national administrative and staffing company that serves hospital clients.