T-DOT revealed the preliminary design of the North Willow Avenue Widening Project Tuesday during a public information meeting.
T-DOT Region Two Director of Pre-Construction Rachel Gentry said the project will construct a five-lane street from Broad Street to 12th Street. Gentry said continuous center turn lanes will be featured from Broad Street to 7th Street. The stretch from 7th to 12th Street will be more of a boulevard featuring grass medians to help control traffic.
“Concerns for rear-end crashes, as well as sideswipes, and T-Bone crashes, as folks are trying to turn left and right from the roadway,” Gentry said. “So having that center turn lane allows folks to get out of the flow of traffic as they are waiting to make those left turns.”
Gentry said the project will also improve pedestrian safety by adding striped crosswalks, 10-foot-wide sidewalks, pedestrian lighting, two additional signalized intersections, and upgrading existing signalized intersections.
Gentry said T-DOT will now enter the right-of-way acquisition phase, with sights set on beginning construction in the Fall of 2028.
“We’ll be reaching out via letter to all of the property owners and making them aware of the upcoming right-of-way meeting that will be held in January, specific to those folks who are gonna be impacted by the project, to step them through that process,” Gentry said. “So we will be doing a right-of-way acquisition. We will also be working with the utility companies to get their plans for all of their relocations, so that we can incorporate that into the project, and then we will just be finalizing all of the different aspects of the design, so that we can get it ready for construction.”
Gentry said the project will be completed in phases, starting at Broad Street and working its way down. Gentry said at least one lane of traffic will be open at all times. Gentry said T-DOT is working closely with Tennessee Tech as the project will largely impact the campus.
“Tech has been great for us to work with,” Gentry said. “We know that they have a lot going on here on campus. A lot of projects in the works, so they have shared with us some of the changes that they will be making in and around the campus to help us better understand where pedestrians might be needing to access from one side of the roadway to the other, or, you know, how vehicular movements might be changing in and around the campus. And so we have been able to use that information to guide our design.”
The public was invited to ask T-DOT officials about the project and submit comment cards voicing opinions or concerns with the project. Gentry said public input is invaluable.
“These folks live and drive here every day, and they may be able to point out things,” Gentry said. “You know, we visit the project, we work with the community, we work with the city, with the utility companies, with large stakeholders in the area such as the hospital, and the university. But all of that information is very valuable to us and helps us guide the best design possible.”