Marina Dock Age

Since February, work on Clarksville Marina in Clarksville Tenn., had stalled when subcontractor Rust of Kentucky walked off the job site just days before filing for bankruptcy. Finally, by the end of April, city contractor TMS Contracting was given the go-ahead to hire a replacement to continue dirt work, including excavation of the basin itself, according to an April 30 report in The Leaf-Chronicle.

TMS had been waiting for a decision from Zurich, the surety company that insured Rust’s contract to completion. TMS president Thom Spigner said Zurich provided his company with funding to hire a replacement – one of three possible outcomes of Zurich’s deliberations. Spigner said Zurich could have chosen to complete the work itself, or it could have hired one of its own contractors to finish the job.

Civil Constructors was chosen to fulfill Rust’s contract. Joe Rodgers, president of Civil Constructors, said at the end of April that he hoped work would begin within a week to 10 days.

While awaiting Rust’s replacement, TMS hasn’t been idle. Because TMS was contracted for each phase of construction, it was able to continue work in other areas, even though the basin excavation – scheduled as phase one – had stopped.

Spigner said work on a park boardwalk was “well underway,” and construction had begun on a building that would serve as the main hub for the entire site’s electrical needs. He could not give a definitive timeline on completion because the recovery calendar still needed to be made, but added, “We still believe we can finish this project this calendar year.”

Until about mid-April, marina operator Greg Batts said he was working with a July 8 projected date for the basin being turned over to him, ready for marina construction. Once the basin is ready, Batts said, he needs 10 to 12 weeks to build the marina and open it for business. If handed over on July 8, the marina would open in late September or early October.

Batts said 120 slips are already reserved, and 144 to 200 slips will be ready by summer. He also said if the opening date keeps pushing further into fall, he may build the slips out in smaller stages, as boat owners become ready to move in.