Road safety
Jan. 29 public meeting to identify projects to reduce road hazards in county
Little changes that could make potentially life-saving improvements in highway safety will be the focus of a $30,000 study being conducted by the Anderson County Highway Department.
To begin the process, the Highway Department will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the county courthouse in Clinton to gain input for the Anderson County Roadway Safety Action Plan.
Nick Vowell, who has been hired part-time by the county to facilitate the study, told the Rocky Top City Council last Thursday night the county’s Highway Department would “pick eight corridors to focus on” with the plan, which eventually would be completed with additional, much-larger grants.
Anderson County has received a $24,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration for its Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
That grant, along with a $6,000 contribution from the county, will pay for the study.
Vowell described the kinds of improvements the study is looking for as “low-cost, high-impact” projects, such as roadway striping, additions of guardrails, better lighting, and other simple fixes that could help “reduce deaths and serious injuries.”
The study initially was going to be limited to corridors in Clinton, Oak Ridge and the southern part of the county, but Vowell said he was successful in getting Norris and Rocky Top corridors included.
“We will ask for one corridor in Norris and one in Rocky Top,” he told the Rocky Top council.
The key to making these improvements will be “getting public engagement” to identify specific areas of need, Vowell said.
Two public meetings will be held, beginning with Jan. 29, he said.
The next step after identifying the corridors and projects will be “getting grants for implementation,” he said.
Each grant would be for a minimum of $2 million, Vowell said.
The Jan. 29 meeting will be held in Room 118A at the county courthouse.
“The public is invited to share input on any safety concerns on Anderson County roadways,” according to an announcement of the meeting from the county mayor’s office.
“Along with vital crash analysis and other factors, community input and feedback will be used in formulating the Safety Action Plan,” the notice said.
“The final result will be identification of specific recommendations and projects that can be submitted for future rounds of Safe Streets and Roads for All Initiative Implementation Grant opportunities.”
The Anderson County Courthouse is at 100 N. Main St. in Clinton.
No details have been announced yet about the planned second meeting.
For more information, contact Nick Vowell at nvowell@andersoncountytn.gov.
