The Crossville City Council weighed a decision Tuesday night during a work session to install an additional turning lane on East First Street.
The turning lane would be installed at the Chestnut Hill Road intersection across from a planned Weigel’s convenience store development. Mayor RJ Crawford said the city would be responsible for a portion of the project, while the developer would handle other infrastructure improvements.
“So that would be our responsibility because Weigel’s is picking up a brand new [traffic] light as well as taking care of the other side of the road,” Crawford said. “If you look in the legislative text we were looking at, about $30,000 that would be in next year’s budget for us to pay for our side.”
The project will consist of a shared left-turn/through lane and a right-turn lane in the eastbound direction. City Manager Valerie Hale said the improvement is part of a broader effort to address anticipated traffic flow as the project moves forward.
The council questioned whether the city would have to purchase property for the project. City Engineer Tim Begley said the project is in the city’s existing right-of-way.
“We will not be acquiring any of that,” Begley said.
According to the plans, the project will also widen the portion of road near the intersection to match the existing cross slope of East First Street.
The proposal is expected to move forward for formal consideration at next Tuesday’s council meeting.