Algood officials reviewed potential safety upgrades and traffic flow improvements for Highway 111 and surrounding areas during a Thursday night planning meeting.
Algood City Administrator Keith Morrison updated the commission on a traffic study evaluating turn lanes near the Walmart entrance. He noted that the city is waiting for a final report that will categorize potential solutions based on their timeline and cost.
“What’s some short-term things that we could fix, kind of inexpensive, quick that would make a difference, what’s mid-term, and what’s the long-term?” Morrison said. “And so he’s wrapping that up right now.”
One proposal involves extending two lanes all the way to the retail center, with one becoming a dedicated turn lane. Morrison said another alternative suggests creating a dedicated turn lane specifically for Burton Branch.
“He suggested that might be a good alternative, we would have to work with TDOT and the state on that,” Morrison said. “So waiting on that final study to come back and see where we’re at, and then we’ll decide what the three… we asked for three options.”
Board members noted that the expansion of US Foods has significantly increased truck traffic in the area, making a dedicated turn lane a priority for congestion relief. Additionally, officials are gathering data on other intersections to determine if further changes are needed.
“We’re also starting a traffic study at RC Buck and Quinland Lake Road,” Morrison said. “They should be having cameras up, starting taking data either this week or next, and so we’ll have those results back pretty soon too.”
The discussion also addressed safety concerns regarding a curve on Highway 111 near Quinland Lake where vehicles have crossed the median. Officials discussed approaching the Tennessee Department of Transportation to request median deterrents to prevent head-on collisions.
“We can approach TDOT about that, so that would probably be some kind of median deterrent like a guardrail or the new cables they’re putting up,” Morrison said.
Staff Planner Tommy Lee also presented updated priorities for the land use transportation plan, including infrastructure resilience and economic development.