Clarksville, TN – At this evening’s Executive Session I asked Mayor McMillan about the current project status at Exit 11. You will recall the issues and road options I raise my article yesterday.
I asked the mayor were we proceeding with the Tennessee Department of Transportation plan as described by Representative Curtis Johnson (using the right-of-way that the state owned, the state funding the $1.3 million price tag, etc) or were we looking at the plan quoted by Councilman Burkhart that would require additional money from either the city or somewhere else to buy land to give it to the state and have them move the exit ramp to intersect with Sango Road.
The mayor stated she had talked with Senator Tim Barnes today and, as it stands now, the project will proceed per the current state plan. I asked if any action was underway by the city to push the option that Councilman Burkhart mentioned? She stated there had been discussions/talks. She did not elaborate further that any other actions had been considered. The use of the phrase “as it stands now” is something less than a 100%, chisel it in stone and pour it in concrete answer but at least it is a documented city position.
I talked with the Clarksville Street Department personnel after the session and today they were able to get a point-of-contact at TDOT for the project. It appears any environmental issues are already covered with their approach and initial work on the design/engineering has begun. If this proceeds at what could be considered “warp speed” in comparison to regular state projects, the city may see designs by the February time frame.
It would be my opinion that if the state is already expending time and effort on this project, then the state proposal is very likely the one we’ll get. Due to the time of year, it is unlikely construction would start before early to mid-spring 2012. I will try and keep you posted as the project milestones are reached. In the meantime I will continue to enlist the help of the Clarksville Police Department in traffic control as much as possible.
Editor’s Note: This article contains the view points of Councilman Bill Summers and may not represent the views of the rest of the City Council, the City of Clarksville or ClarksvilleOnline.
