Anytime there’s an accident on Highway 58 or Interstate 75, traffic tends to pile up on Hunter Road, and the stationary cars remind long-time resident Tammy Dana of a parking lot.
“It is unbelievably busy,” Dana, who has lived in the Ooltewah area for about 20 years, said about Hunter Road. “Dangerous.”
With available land making Ooltewah a lucrative place to build, Hamilton County commissioners frequently hear concerns from residents about traffic and growth. County numbers show Hunter Road has a crash rate nine times higher than the state average.
“The shoulders in a lot of areas are just not there,” Dana said in a phone call. “If you get one tire off, you are going to wreck because there’s nowhere to go. Wrecks happen all the time.”
GreenTech Homes is building about 200 homes near Dana’s house on Bell Mill Road, which she said is too narrow to handle the influx of traffic she expects to come to her neighborhood. On Wednesday, the County Commission will take up a rezoning along Snow Hill Road that would enable the construction of a 447-unit senior living community, which has also attracted criticism from nearby residents. Data from the Tennessee Department of Transportation indicates that section of Snow Hill Road, which is near Ooltewah High School, sees 10,422 vehicle trips per day.