Montgomery County, TN – Local and state government officials met in Nashville today to put a plan into action for a new and larger Driver Service Center in Clarksville-Montgomery County.
State Representative Curtis Johnson and Jason Hodges have led the effort to bring a bigger and better center to Clarksville. The project is fully supported by state Senator Bill Powers, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.
Also participating in today’s meeting was State Assistant Commissioner of Driver Services Paula Shaw, State Director of Driver Services Michael Hogan, State Director of Facilities Evan Smith, Montgomery County Chief of Staff Kyle Johnson and City of Clarksville Chief of Staff James Halford.
Volumes and wait times are the major issues that made Clarksville-Montgomery County a top priority for this state project. Montgomery County hit the top 10 list in both categories.
“I greatly appreciate the work Representative Johnson and Representative Hodges have done to keep this project a priority for our growing community. This has been an area of need for our residents for quite some time. The new facility will offer a more streamlined and efficient approach that will have our residents in and out with less wait time,” said Mayor Durrett.
Mayor Pitts echoed those sentiments.
“Our community really, really needs a bigger, faster Driver Services facility, and I’m proud of our delegation in the Legislature and our state Driver Services officials for working with us to make this happen,” Mayor Pitts said.
The new center will be a full service station that offers testing services along with basic services such as Driver License and ID issuance, MVR, vision testing, knowledge and skills testing, and handgun permits.
The next step for the State in the process, expected in February, is to seek bids to lease existing space, retrofit an existing building or build a new facility. The scope of the project will be a building that is at least 8,300 square feet, which is more than 30 percent larger than the current facility.
The bid process will take approximately one month and be followed by a review at the state level. The anticipated time frame for the bid, review, and selection process is 120 days. From there, the renovation or building process is expected to take between 12 to 18 months with a new facility opening by the end of 2021.
The facility will be paid for through State funding.
For information to bid on the project, email Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Director of Facilities Evan Smith at Evan.Smith@tn.gov
