NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Bikers and joggers were pleasantly surprised Friday to see paved roads where potholes once landed Grammy award-winning singer Amy Grant in the hospital.
Matt Hawkins just turned the corner to see this stretch of the road unlike he’s ever seen before.
“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen this little stretch all nicely paved,” Hawkins said.
It was NewsChannel 5's first time too, with a night and day difference from the patchwork of potholes just last week.
The same week, when Metro Parks Director Monique Odom told NewsChannel 5 Investigates it could take some time to even request for the city to fund the road paving project.
“We’ll request funding for those needs in the next capital spending plan,” Odom said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates Metro Parks was notified of problem roads back in March by the Friends of Warner Parks. It wasn’t until May that they requested an estimate for paving the roads. What’s not clear is why nothing was paved until now.
Grant’s accident happened on July 27. That’s when Bryan Ward says he spotted Grant lying motionless on the ground near a pothole and immediately knew what happened.
“I knew immediately because I’ve biked this a few times before and I had almost hit these potholes myself,” Ward said.
Ward sent an email to Metro Councilwoman Angie Henderson, who followed up with an email directed at Metro Parks. Within just over four hours, Metro Parks responded to say they had shut down the road and began filling potholes with temporary concrete.
Just as fast as they worked to patch up the road, it took Metro Parks just over two weeks to send a crew to pave the entire road.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Metro Parks again where they found the money and how they managed to make this happen so quickly but so far have not heard back.
Some say the paving project happened as quickly as it did because of who it happened to, but they are appreciative of the quick work — even if they know it should have been done sooner.
“I’m glad they’re doing things to make it safer because a lot more people are visiting here and driving through,” Hawkins said.
Grant announced on Friday she is postponing her fall tour as she continues to recover from her injuries. Grant’s managers sent a statement saying in part:
“Amy is getting stronger every day. Just as she did after her heart surgery, we are amazed at how fast she heals. However, although she is doing much better, we have made the difficult decision to postpone her fall tour so she can concentrate on her recovery and rebuild her stamina.”
Grant expects to return in time for her Christmas tour with Michael W. Smith and her annual “Christmas At The Ryman” with her husband Vince Gill.
