White Rock Tower access road cost overruns
Summary
The road project to reach the White Rocks radio tower site ballooned by $855,800 — from about $488,700 to $1.34 million — after unstable roadbed and contractor work done without authorization drove costs up. Commissioners approved the change order anyway to finish delivering tower equipment.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Aug 17, 2026.
Impact analysis
Adds $855,800 to the project — nearly tripling the original bid — with $602,877.81 from ARP funds and $252,923 from fund balance.
Emergency communications improve once the tower site is reachable and radio equipment is installed.
Taxants absorb the overrun, and the engineer's letter suggests the contractor performed work without authorization — a cost-control concern.
Mentions & discussions (3)
Carter County Commission Meeting — 2026-08-17
The road project to reach the White Rocks radio tower site ballooned by $855,800 — from about $488,700 to $1.34 million — after unstable roadbed and contractor work done without authorization drove costs up. Commissioners approved the change order anyway to finish delivering tower equipment.
Special Called Carter County Commission — June 29, 2026
The road project to deliver radio tower equipment has grown from a ~$650K contract toward $1.35 million, partly from unstable roadbed and partly from unauthorized contractor work. Commissioners voted to finish the job so legal responsibility can be sorted out, without paying for unauthorized work yet. The tower (and the TACA network) can't go live without it.
Carter County Commission Meeting — 2026-03-16
A roughly $650,000 bid process for improving the White Rocks Tower site access road, funded from remaining ARP reserves — with a last-minute fix so bids go to the Finance Department, not the Mayor's Office.
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