Tennessee Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely was optimistic at a meeting with local officials on Tuesday about the prospects for a toll bridge spanning the Tennessee River in the north part of the county.
County Mayor Claude Ramsey said with state funds running dry that the toll bridge is the only way such a bridge will be built.
He said state officials did a study on whether the toll would be able to fund the cost of the bridge. He said the initial study did not factor in the huge Volkswagen plant and its spinoff.
County Mayor Ramsey said, "They believe that with the VW development added to it, that it will be close on meeting the cost."
He said no figures were given on the projected cost of the toll bridge connecting Soddy Daisy with Harrison or the proposed toll amount.
Mr. Ramsey said, "Right now we've got a county that is divided." He said it would not only connect two long-divided sections of the county, but also tie in the Sequatchie Valley with I-75.
Commissioner Nicely came to Chattanooga to discuss the bridge with Mr. Ramsey, Mayor Ron Littlefield and state legislators and county commissioners.