Tennessee Department of Transportation testing temporarily postponed for Signal

This file photo from February 2012 shows a growing crack in a section of U.S. Highway 127 on Signal Mountain. A section of the southbound lane has slid off the mountain before, and some residents are concerned it may happen again.
This file photo from February 2012 shows a growing crack in a section of U.S. Highway 127 on Signal Mountain. A section of the southbound lane has slid off the mountain before, and some residents are concerned it may happen again.

New road unlikely

In the late 1990s, an attempt was made by TDOT to modernize and completely rebuild the road up the front of Signal Mountain. The massive project was voted down by the residents of the town, who expressed concern that such a project wasn’t consistent with the character of the town. Although the officials of both TDOT and the town of Signal Mountain have changed in the time since, Flynn said such a project would now be nearly impossible due to lack of available funds.

Signal Mountain residents should prepare for delays and lane closures due to testing by the Tennessee Department of Transportation to determine the viability and safety of sections of U.S. Highway 127. TDOT officials said last week they weren't exactly sure how long the testing would last, but it was expected to start around April 5.

The testing was originally scheduled for the end of March, but was postponed following pressing issues in Bledsoe County taking up much of TDOT's time and manpower in the area.

The testing of the main route up and down the mountain was requested due to the concerns of residents and the Signal Mountain Town Council regarding the safety of portions of the road, especially where a sinkhole shut the road down in 2010. Cracks have begun forming where the hole was patched, leading to calls for TDOT to schedule an inspection, said Mayor Dick Gee.

"What we're looking for is a general condition of the road," Gee said. "To a layman, it looks like it's getting worse. Our main concern is whether it will remain viable as a highway."

Should the road be shut down for any reason, Gee said it would cause serious inconvenience to those living on the mountain.

At a recent Tennessee Municipal League conference attended by Gee and other town council members, Signal Mountain Councilman Chris Howley voiced concerns about the road to Sen. Jim Tracy, chairman of the transportation committee. The inspection and testing by TDOT was scheduled soon afterward, Gee reported.

Jennifer Flynn, TDOT's community relations officer for the region, said the postponement came after a portion of State Route 30 in Bledsoe County had a lane closed for roughly a month, and was on the brink of failure. Such a failure, she said, would have necessitated a rebuild instead of a repair, which is much more expensive for the state.

But, she assured, TDOT has continued to keep a watchful eye on road conditions on Signal Mountain.

"We're constantly monitoring [U.S. 127], and we've been aware of rockslides, sediment and water issues in that area for a while," Flynn said. "Our problem now is lack of funds. We're having problems funding all the things we need to do."

The Associated Press reported in 2015 that national funding for state highway and transportation projects has become difficult. The Highway Trust Fund has been kept on the edge of financial failure due to Congress' refusal to increase the federal gas tax. The gas tax has not been raised since 1993.

Gee said the town has no plans to deal with a hypothetical issue because U.S. 127 is a state road, and the town therefore has no jurisdiction. Repairs by TDOT - pulling from state and federal funds - are currently the only feasible solution to the road's potential issues, he said.

"It's not that we have to rely on the state for help, but we're looking to the state to maintain their road," said Gee.

He added that rebuilding the road would be financially impossible for the town. TDOT's federally funded plan to rebuild the road in the late 1990s would have cost tens of millions of dollars, Gee said, and that figure has likely gone up since.

He estimates such a project would now cost around $100 million.

Gee said there are a few state- and federally funded projects planned to deal with erosion and other issues on U.S. 127, but he doesn't expect any to be funded in the near future.

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