Cookeville marking the completion of a South Jefferson Avenue improvement project first identified in the city’s major street plan more than two decades ago.
City Manager James Mills said the widening from I-40 to Highway 111 reached the Rural Planning Organization’s priority list more than 15 years ago. Mills said the finished project represents a significant change for one of Cookeville’s primary corridors.
“Not only should it greatly improve traffic flow from south to north, especially people coming from White County, it’ll also we anticipate open up quite a bit of land for development,” Mills said. “So yeah, it’s a major, major improvement for the city.”
Mills said T-DOT widening made better by the resurfacing of Jefferson from I-40 to the Courthouse. The state also replaced broken curbing from Stevens Street north, while the city completed concrete work around manholes and valve covers.
“And then headed north from there, over the last, I don’t know, 10 years, I’ve received more complaints about the condition of Jefferson than any other street in the city,” Mills said. “It’s as smooth as, as you can imagine. We’re really pleased with that.”
Changes around Interstate Drive accompanied the larger Jefferson Avenue project. The city added a second right-turn lane on Interstate Drive, while TDOT added a second left-turn lane for northbound Jefferson traffic turning onto Interstate Drive.
Mills said the five-lane section south of I-40 now provides frontage improvements to properties along that portion of the corridor. The additional access comes as Cookeville faces increasing pressure on its remaining available property.
“As any longtime resident here knows, we’re we’re running out of property for people to develop,” Mills said. “Not that every piece of property should be developed, but we are under a lot of pressure for more development and we’re running out of land for that to occur.”
The project’s completion ends roughly four years of construction, but Mills said the finished roadway has created a different concern for the city.
“It’s a great relief, but our bigger concern now is is keeping people at the speed limit,” Mills said. “It’s such a nice street now, people have a tendency to go a little fast, so we’re putting extra patrols in the area to keep, especially with the school down there, we want to make sure that people are following the speed limit.”
Unexpected problems at the Pigeon Roost Creek crossing contributed to delays. Mills said four different contractors worked on the bridge or creek-crossing portion before crews finished the work.
“It didn’t happen as fast as we wanted it and didn’t happen as fast as TDOT wanted it, but you know we’re all very thankful it’s completed now,” Mills said.