Highway, rail, airport and transit projects throughout Southeast Tennessee are included on a list the Tennessee Department of Transportation is ready to move on if federal stimulus funding is made available in early spring.
The list includes the ongoing project to widen Dalton Pike in southern Bradley County as well as other road widening, bridge replacement and airport improvement projects that are what President-elect Barack Obama has called “shovel-ready.”
“The projects must be ready (to move forward) within 180 days,” TDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said. She said many on the list could get started as soon as money is available.
STIMULUS CANDIDATES
TDOT says these highway projects in Southeast Tennessee are being considered for an expected federal stimulus package:
Bradley: Bridge over Greasy Creek
Bradley: Reconstruction State Route 60 from Golf Drive to U.S. Highway 64 bypass
Grundy: Bridge replacement over Firescald Creek
Hamilton: Bridges over Lookout Creek, CSX Railway on Lee Highway and a branch on SR60
McMinn: Widening of SR30 east of Athens
Meigs: Bridge replacement on Lamontville Road
Meigs: Widening of SR30 from Decatur to Tennessee River
Monroe: Bridge replacements on Notchy Creek and Belcher Gap roads
Polk: Widen U.S. Highway 411 from Benton to SR30 near Reliance
Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation
One of the projects is widening state Route 30 east of Athens, Tenn., to four lanes. The highway between Athens and Etowah is a main connector between Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 411, and local officials consider it an important link for traffic.
Joe Guy, assistant to the McMinn County mayor, said land has been purchased and engineering is complete but there haven’t been any new developments for some time.
“We haven’t heard anything about the Highway 30 project,” Mr. Guy said.
In Meigs County, the continuation of work on state Route 30 there would improve the roadway and eliminate some curves. Work on widening the highway to four lanes from Athens to Decatur was completed about a year ago, and the remaining work would be toward improving a connector between Dayton and Decatur.
Monroe, Grundy and Hamilton counties might see several bridge work projects, Ms. Flynn said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Flynn said two other big projects already under way in Polk County were ahead of schedule, though recent rains may have slowed them down.
U.S. Highway 411 is being widened to four lanes from Benton to U.S. Highway 64, the east-west route that connects Interstate 75 to North Carolina and Georgia.
Also, a portion of U.S. 64 is being four-laned from U.S. 411 to the Ocoee River.
If the section U.S. 411 could be part of the stimulus package, it would complete planned four-lane work from U.S. 64 in Polk County to Maryville. Ultimately that highway could be four lanes to the Georgia line.
Ms. Flynn said which projects are chosen will depend upon the passage of the stimulus and the amount put aside for Tennessee.
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