This aerial picture shows Hamilton Place mall in East Brainerd.It took none in the room by surprise on Tuesday when three UTC engineering students presented their projection of traffic patterns on Gunbarrel Road near Hamilton Place going into the year 2055.
“There are problems now, what’s it going to be like with population growth?” said Charlie Vaden, one of the students.
The answer is worse. And it could take an estimated $150 million to complete a variety of upgrades to improve traffic flow, not including land acquisition for road widening, according to a new study.
Over a year ago, Vaden, Mark Skelton and Weiran Yang were assigned the traffic study and projection project as part of their engineering school curriculum. The project was commissioned by the East Brainerd Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.
David Rhea, president of the East Brainerd Council, said the Chamber wanted fresh eyes to look at what is now an old and persistent issue at in the Hamilton Place area. And an issue that’s getting noticeably worse already.