When now-Gov. Bill Lee was "candidate" Bill Lee in 2017, he was the only gubernatorial hopeful to visit the Collegedale Board of Commissioners.
At the meeting, city officials talked with Lee about the importance of funding Phase III of the project to widen Apison Pike.
Their message was apparently heard - the governor included the third phase in his Tennessee Department of Transportation's 2020-2023 plan for infrastructure projects. Additionally, the project will begin in 2020. Those first-year projects are fully funded, while the 2021-22 plans are only partially funded.
"When Governor Lee was running for office, he saw the project and we were able to highlight why it was important to the city of Collegedale," Commissioner Ethan White said in an interview last week following the announcement. "Having the certainty of this project being funded helps us plan for the future."
The third phase will widen a 3.1-mile stretch of the two-lane road to five lanes, from Ooltewah-Ringgold Road through Collegedale to Layton Lane, which abuts the Collegedale airport. Sidewalks and bike lanes will be added as well.
The first phase of the thoroughfare's overall widening began in 2014 and connected I-75 from the Volkswagen exit to Old Lee Highway. Phase II widened Apison Pike to Ooltewah-Ringgold Road and was completed in September 2017.
A final phase will eventually pick up at Layton Lane and turn the 0.9-mile section of Apison Pike to East Brainerd Road into a five-lane highway as well, while adding a center turn lane, bike lanes and sidewalks. It is currently in the design phase.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $2.1 billion and the upcoming third phase is estimated at $75 million, according to TDOT.
District 29 state Rep. Mike Carter credits Lee with moving the project forward because of its importance to McKee Foods, which will have five-lane access to I-75 from its production plants in Collegedale once the next phase is finished.
"We need to make sure we take care of the businesses who have been creating jobs for decades, and not just those who move here," Carter said.
In a statement announcing the plan, Lee said, "Investing in infrastructure is an important part of driving economic opportunity throughout our state. This funding, particularly for rural Tennessee, will help to keep Tennesseans safe."
The project will also include a significant bridge over the railroad tracks that run through Collegedale to the McKee plants.
"The railroad splits Collegedale in half, and the bridge will help emergency services because we have been stopped many times because of trains," said White, who served for almost two years as a volunteer with the Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department. "Avoiding Apison Pike completely will improve emergency services for residents."