New closures begin for downtown improvement project underway
by G. Chambers Williams III
Motorists entering downtown Clinton from the north on Main Street on Monday morning encountered this roadblock and a detour onto North Hicks Street, as work began on street and sidewalks improvements similar to those that have closed Market Street to vehicular traffic for the past six weeks. Main Street closures are expected to last through late November. - G. Chambers Williams III
After more than six weeks of having Market Street in downtown Clinton closed to traffic for street and sidewalk construction – which continues – motorists now must contend with Main Street being shut down for the same reason.
Starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Main Street was closed to traffic from Cullom Street to East Church Street, and will remain so until Sept. 12. Other parts of Main Street will be closed through Nov. 24.
From Sept. 15-Oct. 3, Main Street will be closed to traffic from East Church Street to Kincaid Street.
Next, from Oct. 6-24, Main Street will be shut down from Kincaid Street to Broad Street.
For the current phase, through Sept. 12, the detour routes will be:
• Southbound traffic (toward Market Street): follow North Hicks Street to West Broad Street then back to Main Street.
• Northbound traffic (toward Market Street): Follow West Broad Street to North Hicks Street then back to Main Street.
Flaggers are on duty to help keep motorists on track.
Brenda Colwell, who operates a booth in Granny’s Attic on Market Street, said she and other downtown Clinton merchants are ready to welcome visitors to the fall Clinch River Antique Festival on Oct. 3-4, even if the street in front of the stores isn’t open yet. All downtown stores have remained open throughout the construction, and will continue to be open, she said. - G. Chambers Williams III
Although downtown street and sidewalk construction will force some key changes, the Clinch River Fall Antique Festival will be held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3-4, its organizers said this week.
“We do plan to have the festival, but we’re still working out the details,” said Katherine Birkbeck, program director for the Historic Downtown Clinton organization, which sponsors the event.
Still to be determined is where the numerous street vendors will be permitted to set up their booths and tables, as Market Street and part of Main Street are closed for construction work and will not be available, City Manager Roger Houck said.
“We’re having a meeting with the merchants to discuss it, but it won’t be on Market or Main streets,” Houck said. “We may move it to one of the side streets, or we possibly could use part of the Commerce Street parking lot.”
The city plans to have the sidewalks open to foot traffic for access to the Market Street and Main Street stores, and Houck said some of the downtown businesses have rear entrances, as well, which are not affected by the construction.
Rocky Top first-responders involved in saving a life during a call June 29 were honored at Thursday’s City Council meeting. They are, from left: Anthony Braden, fire chief; firefighters Zach Kennedy, Daniel Seiber and Brandon Smith; police officers Nick Marcum and Dustin Henderson; and firefighter Matt Bell. - G. Chambers Williams III
Rocky Top leaders are applying for a grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee that would help with city park improvements, and would not require any city matching funds.
During its meeting last Thursday, the city’s Recreation Committee discussed and approved the grant application, then passed the information on to the City Council during the regular council meeting that followed.
The grant money would be used to build a playground in conjunction with the splash pad, which is right behind the post office.
Grants are available for up to $975,000, but Mayor Kerry Templin said the city hopes to get maybe “a quarter of that. That would be awesome.”
The city also is continuing planning for installation of new bleachers and a press box for the George Templin Memorial Field, which will be paid for in part by a grant the city is getting from the Tennessee Office of Outdoor Recreation.
With buildings demolished and radioactive soil replaced, the American Nuclear site awaits future use. - Ben Pounds
After years of sitting unused as a polluted site, the American Nuclear property near Clinton is now cleared of radioactive waste including cobalt and cesium, and will soon be ready for use again.
That was the message presented at an event at The Pearl at Aspire Park on Tuesday, Aug. 18, attended by Anderson County, Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation officials.
The site is at 147 Blockhouse Valley Road, next to a county recycling center and the county’s animal shelter.
Reporters toured the site after the event.
“This is the moment we have all dreamed and hoped for,” Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank said to the officials and reporters.
“Once the work here is finally wrapped up, this site will be safe for reuse, safe for the environment, safe for human health and basically the concerns of the past will be in the past,” said Steve Sanders director of the TDEC Division of Remediation during a tour of the site.
EPA Southeast Chief of Staff Leland Frost called the effort “one of the fastest cleanups of this kind that I’m aware of.”
The Clinton City Council has approved its property tax rate for the city on second and final reading.
The vote came at the Tuesday Aug. 25, and the rate will be $0.526 per $100 of taxable property down from its previous 86 cents per $100 of taxable property.
Clinton City Council member David Queener made the motion, and Clinton City Council member Wendy Maness seconded. The measure passed unanimously, although Council Member Brian Hatmaker was absent.
“This is because appraisals are going up, so we lowered the tax rate,” said city manager Roger Houck. Finance Director Gail Cook explained that due to the changes in appraisals, some individuals could pay less or more.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has outlined its plans to expand Edgemoor Road, though the actual dates remain uncertain.
The state has two projects planned along Edgemoor.
The first will widen the section from State Route 62, also known as Illinois Avenue, to Melton Lake Drive into a four-lane concrete-median roadway.
That project is identified for construction funding between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028, according to TDOT Community Relations Officer Mark Nagli.
The second project will widen Edgemoor from Melton Lake Drive to State Route 9, also known as Clinton Highway, into a five-lane facility.
It is identified for construction funding between July 1, 2028, and June 30, 2029.
In the meantime, TDOT is developing design plans for both segments, TDOT Project Manager Marlena Gore told Anderson County Commissioner Tracy Wandell in a July 29 email.
he email was included in the agenda for the Aug. 18 County Commission meeting.
Gore said TDOT is considering options such as traffic signal and lighting locations, median openings, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The agency must also review environmental impacts.
While no date has been set, Gore said TDOT plans to meet with the public this fall to discuss environmental, design and right-of-way issues. Nagli said a date has not yet been determined.
Separately, Gore said TDOT representatives plan to contact affected property owners in early 2026.
At the request of the Anderson County Operations Committee, County Law Director James L. Brooks has asked The Windrock Land Company to allow descendants access to three cemeteries located on its property.
Brooks’ letter to the company was included in the agenda for the Aug. 18 County Commission meeting.
He said Windrock has installed a locked gate at the intersection of New River Highway and an old mining road.
Beyond that point are Aslinger Cemetery, Matt Phillips Cemetery and a third cemetery he did not name.
“Descendants of the family members buried in these cemeteries have used this road as an access easement for over 100 years,” Brooks wrote. “The right of individuals to visit the cemeteries to visit the graves and for the purpose of repairing, beautifying and protecting the graves and grounds around the same is clear and unequivocal. For these purposes, the law grants an easement to them for ingress and egress from New River Highway, the public road which is nearest to the cemeteries.”
