NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & SportsStudents Fix Sidewalks To Pave Way For Their Future

Students Fix Sidewalks To Pave Way For Their Future

LEBANON, Tenn. - Several years ago a federal lawsuit forced the city of Lebanon to spend thousands of dollars to fix sidewalks for the disabled. The work is underway, and it's benefiting students as well. 

Cedar Street in Lebanon is a road rehabilitation project like no other. The city is rebuilding sidewalks using students from the Tennessee Technology Center in Hartsville. 

"You take some of the older homes here and then you put a brand new sidewalk in front of it. It changes the look of the whole neighborhood," said Lebanon Mayor Phillip Craighead. 

Several years ago the city agreed to fix sidewalks to comply with the Federal Disabilities Act. Over the next several years Lebanon will spend $175,000 a year to build ramps and rebuild sidewalks all over the city. 

The students are learning how to pour and finish concrete. Most concrete finishers are in their 50s, which means in a few years there will be a labor shortage. 

Students like David Brady can fill that gap. Brady enjoys the work, and his labor requires a lot of detail and precision. 

"It gives you satisfaction. When you finish something and you can step back and look at it and think, ‘Wow! I did that,'" said Brady. 

People who attend church on Cedar Street feel the same way. 

"It will help the community as far as far as people walking in the road and stuff, because a lot of times there's no sidewalk. They'll walk in the middle of the road and they're liable to get hit or anything," said resident Raquel Dowell. 

The Tennessee Technology students are earning high school and college credits while they learn about concrete. IMI is the concrete company helping out. 

A company official said if the students decide to make concrete finishing their trade, they can earn $14 to $16 an hour.