The Old Train Depot won’t get its new roof until the new year.

Despite the forward progress on the roof project, the completion date has been delayed until January.

Ryan Holmes, an engineer with Dungan Engineering, told the Brookhaven Board of Aldermen earlier this week that the company providing the new tiles for the project will not have them ready for several weeks.

“I’m sure some of y’all are wondering — maybe even getting questions — about why you haven’t seen any activity on the tiles of the train depot in the last few weeks,” he said. “The word I got (over the last few days) is that the plant is still down.”

The tile manufacturer is located in Indiana and has had some maintenance issues which has delayed orders, Holmes said. 

“The company we’re getting the tiles from has been in in business since the 1800s,” he said. “They are the original manufacturer of the tiles on the roof now. Since they are our sole source for the original tile, we’re at their mercy. They weren’t saying it was indefinitely down. They were pushing deliveries back into January for tiles.”

Holmes said there are other companies that manufacturer similar tiles, but made the decision to use to original tile maker in order to avoid any problems later on with the roof.

E Cornell Malone Corp., the contractor for the project, has been working diligently on the woodwork, painting and lighting over the last few weeks to make up for the delay, Holmes said.

“We’ve talked several times over the last couple of days,” he said. “I do know our contractor is very concerned about it and just a little put out that this has happened. They definitely don’t want it to look badly on them, but it’s surely out of their control.”

Until the tile arrives, Holmes assured the board that everything has been done to protect the roof from water damage. When the company delivers the tile, the contractor anticipates finishing within a week, he said.

“They have about a week’s worth of work to finish the tile,” Holmes said. “The hard work has been done. They’ve taken (the old tiles) off. They’ve put the waterproofing down.”

Downtown streets

Holmes reminded the board that the plans for the downtown renovations — which includes one-way streets and additional parking —have been completed. Bids will be taken beginning Jan. 12, 2017, he said.

City clerk Mike Jinks said he will be submitting the advertisement to The Daily Leader to run on two Fridays.

Holmes said the contractor selected in January could begin as early as February or as late as April, depending on the weather.