Video: Roundabout on Chattanooga's Shallowford Road now scheduled to finish in March

photo Vehicles drive through the construction on Jenkins Road where it intersects with Shallowford Road on Monday afternoon. The intersection will become a roundabout when construction is completed.
Occupy Little Rock met at the steps of City Hall today and announced that about 10 members plan to remain in the camp tomorrow and submit to arrest.

The announcement comes after the city ordered the protesters to leave their location at Fourth and Ferry streets by May 16 at 7 a.m. to use the space for bus parking during the tourist season.

Occupy Little Rock tents to come down

Video available Watch Video
photo Shallowford Road work

Orange and white cones line the intersection of Shallowford and Jenkins roads, and a "road closed" sign blocks the end of Morris Hill Springs Road.

Cars roll through the parking lots of two nearby gas stations, drivers ignoring the "road closed" sign.

"They go through my station because Morris Hill Springs Road is closed," said Vijay Chaudharii, owner of Kanku's Express on the corner of Morris Hill Springs and Jenkins roads. "But what can I do? I don't want to close my parking lot."

For the past six months, city engineers have been installing a roundabout at the intersection of Shallowford, Jenkins and Morris Hill Springs. City officials initially said the project would be completed by the middle of this month, but delays have led to a projection of sometime in the middle of next month.

"It'll be in March," said Dennis Malone, city assistant engineer.

The $1.5 million roundabout is the first step toward a more-extensive project on Shallowford Road. In the next few months, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will widen Shallowford to five lanes from Gunbarrel Road to 500 feet past Ogletree Avenue, then make it three lanes to Jenkins Road.

The construction will begin by summer, said Jennifer Flynn, TDOT spokeswoman.

"The project has some utility relocation issues, and work may not get started until July or August," Flynn said.

But the road widening should be finished by November, she said.

Utility issues have plagued the project for months, Malone said.

AT&T was late starting the relocation of its wiring, he said, and other utility problems also came into play.

On Monday, AT&T spokeswoman Cathy Lewandowski would not address the issues for the delay but issued a short email statement saying the company finished its work in January.

"AT&T has completed its necessary underground utility work at the intersection of Jenkins and Shallowford roads," she wrote.

In the meantime, Chaudharii said he has had problems with the construction for months. His business has decreased 80 percent since construction began, he said.

"I have to pay all the bills out of my pocket," he said, but he does see the benefits once the construction is completed.

photo Construction continues on Shallowford Road as part of a massive project that includes utilities, sewer and road widening, and will also place a roundabout (traffic circle) at the intersection with Jenkins Road.

"When it's finished, [business] will pick up," he said.

Steve Leach, administrator for the city's Public Works Department, said he understood the frustration from Chaudharii and the drivers on Morris Hill Springs Road. But he said people should look for alternate routes.

"I understand people have their routes they want to take, but we are in the middle of that project," he said.

One thing that should help with the completion of the roundabout is good weather this week, he said. The project has been slowed by rainy weather the last few weeks, he said.

Malone said that within two weeks the Jenkins Road entrance on the south end of the project should be closed as construction crews start to build the roundabout. The entrance will be closed for about two to three weeks, he said.

For Chaudharii, the day it's all done can't come quickly enough.

"It will be nice when it's finished," he said.

Contact staff writer Cliff Hightower at chightower@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480. Follow him at twitter.com/cliffhightower or facebook.com/hightowerTFP.

Upcoming Events