Tennessee Department of Transportation regional communications officer Jennifer Flynn is giving a presentation to the Ooltewah-Collegedale Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Sept. 19.
Her annual appearance before the group typically makes it the council's most well-attended meeting of the year.
The regularly scheduled meeting will be held at Collegedale City Hall, 4910 Swinyar Drive. Networking will begin at 9:15 a.m. and the presentation at 9:30 a.m.
"Among other things, I will give an update on the projects in development along the SR-317 Apison Pike corridor and some other area TDOT projects and issues that might be of interest," said Flynn.
Chamber council meetings are free and open to the public. Council president Jamie Kyle invites anyone interested to attend, even if they are not a business owner.
"There is a lot going on in Collegedale and the area in the new few years," he said. "It's important to know if you're going to be affected by those changes and what changes you might need to make to help adapt to that."
Flynn agreed that staying up to date on current projects can help people adequately prepare for the future of their home or business.
"For example, if a business owner knows that the roadway in front of his business is going to be widened and improved in a few years, he may want to expand his business because of anticipated increase in traffic," she said. "Or if a homeowner knows that a future project might directly affect his property, he may decide not to perform extensive renovations on his home until he finds out for sure. Once construction on a project is under way, it is very beneficial for both people and business owners to know about any possible closures on the project that might affect them as they commute to and from their businesses, jobs or schools."