Hawkins County residents express concern about Goshen Valley Road Bridge

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – On Monday, the Hawkins County Commission convened for its monthly meeting. Although the Goshen Valley Road bridge was not on the meeting agenda, two residents expressed growing concerns regarding the bridge.

“You don’t know, at any time, something catastrophic could happen to that bridge,” said Hawkins County resident Ketron Bailey.

Both Bailey and Deanna Patterson, another resident of Hawkins County, said they feel that the issue should have been addressed years ago.

“I feel like the fact that it was not brought to our attention immediately,” said Patterson. “That people have known about this since 2015 is a huge issue.”

“The more I dug into the research of it,” said Bailey. “I found back in 2015 it was recommended that the bridge be replaced then.”

County Commissioner Benny Barrett, who represents District 2, originally brought the issue to the commission’s attention due to his own concerns with the bridge.

“We have the issues with trucks,” said Barrett. “We have the issues with the road itself. Then there’s sharp curves down through there, then we have the issue with the bridge.”

Hawkins County EMS and the Hawkins County School System have both started considering alternate routes to get to the other side of the bridge, something Patterson said concerns her.

“Personally, I survived a heart attack,” Patterson said during public comment. “A widowmaker. And from what I understand, Surgoinsville Station 2 has 22 minutes reaction time, and that’s to the end of our valley. To come to my house, which is about 5 miles from the end of the Goshen Valley bridge, is going to be 32 minutes. Do you think I’m going to survive that long? I don’t think so.”

Although Barrett had looked deeply into the bridge issue, he encouraged the public to do their own research.

“But by all means, don’t [just] take my word for it,” said Barrett. “Research is out, make your own opinion. Make your own decisions.”

Both Bailey and Patterson said that despite bringing their concerns to the commission and having those concerns addressed, they left the meeting with the same concerns they arrived with.

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