Oak Ridge Today

Traffic light study under way, new plans could be implemented this year

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TDOT Commissioner John Schroer and Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to former Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (File photo from September 2014 courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

A traffic light timing study is under way, and new plans could be implemented early this year, city officials said in December.

Oak Ridge Today asked about the signal timing project during a December interview with Oak Ridge Electric Director Jack Suggs and Jon van Eek, power utilization program supervisor in the Oak Ridge Electric Department. That interview focused on radar-based traffic detectors at six intersections in Oak Ridge.

The City of Oak Ridge announced in September 2014 that it had been awarded a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for $237,500 for a signal timing optimization project.

Suggs and van Eek said the timing study is under way, and they hope to have new plans implemented after January 1, 2016. The plan is to move the maximum number of cars in all directions and to move the maximum number of vehicles, Suggs said. [Read more…]

New ORHS traffic signal starts operating Wednesday

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ORHS-Civic-Center-Stoplight-Dec-11-2015

The new stoplight on Oak Ridge Turnpike between Oak Ridge High School and the Oak Ridge Civic Center will start operating on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new traffic light in front of Oak Ridge High School on Oak Ridge Turnpike will start operating on Wednesday, December 30.

The stoplight has been operating in a temporary, flashing mode since the week of December 14.

City officials want to start operating the stoplight while school is out, said Roger Flynn, director of the Oak Ridge Public Works Department.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a contract to install the stoplight in a 4-3 vote in April. [Read more…]

Candidate visit: Cruz vows to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ calls for abolishing IRS

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Ted-Cruz-Sign-Farragut-High-Dec-23-2015

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m.

FARRAGUT—Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday.

Cruz spoke for about 30 minutes in the Farragut High gym before a standing-room-only crowd of roughly 2,000 people, who helped him celebrate his 45th birthday with a birthday song and cake. The East Tennessee rally was held a little more than two months before the March 1 “SEC primary.”

A first-term Texas senator, Cruz said he plans to rescind every unconstitutional executive order, ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood, end the persecution of religious liberties, and “rip to shreds” the Iranian nuclear deal, which he called “catastrophic.”

Cruz also said the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, and welfare benefits should end for people who are in the country illegally. He pledged to protect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, called for killing the Environmental Protection Agency, and jokingly compared regulators to locusts, with a difference being that pesticides can be used to control locusts. [Read more…]

County Commission approves 18-month lease for General Sessions Court

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The seven-year lease on the Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, 2015, but the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease to keep the courthouse where it is now. That will give county officials time to consider options for where to locate the courthouse. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Dec. 18.

CLINTON—With no other alternative lined up yet, the Anderson County Commission on Thursday agreed to an 18-month lease for the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge. That will keep the courthouse at its current home until mid-2017, giving county officials time to consider where to locate the General Sessions Court, Division II.

The courthouse is used by police officers in Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top, among other agencies and businesses.

The current seven-year lease expires at the end of the year, and officials have been trying to determine since October whether to keep the courthouse where it is now, find a new location in Oak Ridge, or move the Division II court to Clinton, where Division I is located.

County commissioners approved the 18-month lease at a rate of $5,500 per month during a Thursday evening meeting. The lease, which was approved 12-2, will not include a warehouse building used by the county at the courthouse site on Bus Terminal Road. [Read more…]

City receives $433K grant for traffic signal, pedestrian improvements at two intersections

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A $433,000 grant awarded to the City of Oak Ridge would be used to make traffic signal and pedestrian improvements at two intersections on Oak Ridge Turnpike, including at South Tulane Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge has received a $433,000 grant for improvements at two intersections on Oak Ridge Turnpike, one at South Tulane Avenue and the other at East Division Road/Tennyson Road. The improvements, which require a 20 percent local match of roughly $108,000, will include marked crosswalks, ramps, and upgrades to help pedestrians.

The project will include traffic signal and pedestrian feature upgrades at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Tulane Avenue, between the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and Oak Ridge Municipal Building. The upgrades will include the addition of handicap ramps, crosswalks, countdown pedestrian signals with push buttons, and radar vehicle detection, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said in a December 1 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. A traffic signal pole will be relocated to avoid conflicts with overhead utilities.

Improvements at East Division Road/Tennyson Road, near Methodist Medical Center, will include the addition of handicap ramps, crosswalks, and countdown pedestrian signals with push buttons and radar vehicle detection. Sidewalks could be added where there are gaps or where new handicap ramps are disconnected from existing sidewalks, Baldwin said. [Read more…]

Council to consider $325,000 for operations at Centennial Golf Course

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Centennial Golf Course Dec 10, 2015

The Tennessee Centennial Golf Course in Oak Ridge is pictured above on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a $325,000 transfer for operations at Tennessee Centennial Golf Course. If approved, the operating transfer would be the first non-debt related transfer from the city’s General Fund to the Golf Course Fund since the golf course was built, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said.

About $225,000 of the transfer, a cash infusion, would be for outstanding accounts payable. Another $100,000 would be operational funding for the winter, including maintenance of the greens.

The General Fund would still have a balance equivalent to two months of operations after the transfer, Watson said in a memo to City Council members.

Watson said the golf course was affected by several factors this past year, most notably weather. [Read more…]

Land Bank ‘ahead of curve’ in repairing, redeveloping blighted homes

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Matt Widner and Charlie Jernigan Nov. 6, 2015

Matt Widner, Oak Ridge Community Development housing specialist, left, and Charlie Jernigan, board chair for the Oak Ridge Land Bank Corp., are pictured above during a housing work session on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A two-year-old effort to repair or redevelop blighted and abandoned homes in Oak Ridge is making above-average progress, an official said in November.

The Oak Ridge Land Bank Corporation, the first of its kind in Tennessee, has sold two homes and donated two and has more listed, board chair Charlie Jernigan said.

Other land banks around the country haven’t had any sales until their third year.

“We’re ahead of that curve,” Jernigan said after a November 6 work session on housing at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the second this year. [Read more…]

Options for county courthouse in Oak Ridge: Extend lease, stay put, move to govt. building

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The lease on Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, on Bus Terminal Road in Oak Ridge expires Dec. 31, but officials will ask for a one-year lease extension while courthouse options are considered. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—Several alternative locations have been proposed, including a city-owned building at A.K. Bissell Park and a county-owned building on Emory Valley Road, but for now, the Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge could remain at a privately owned building on Bus Terminal Road.

Once housed at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building, the General Sessions, Division II, courthouse has been on Bus Terminal Road since January 2009.

But the lease expires December 31.

On Monday, November 16, the Anderson County Commission voted 15-0 on a voice vote to ask for a one-year lease extension with no penalty and to work with Oak Ridge to share courthouse costs.

“That year buys us time to look at all the options,” said County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who represents District 8, which includes Emory Valley, Woodland, and Hendrix Creek. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge to celebrate new Manhattan Project Park on Nov. 12

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Oak Ridge will have two community events on November 12 to celebrate the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That proposal has been in the works for years to commemorate the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The legislation authorizing the park was signed into law in December 2014, and it designated sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington as a new three-site national park.

The Oak Ridge City Council has designated the week of November 9-15 as
“The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Week.”

Events have been scheduled at Oak Ridge High School and in Historic Jackson Square on Thursday, November 12, two days after a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The two Oak Ridge events will celebrate the establishment of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. [Read more…]

Council doesn’t change Secret City Festival date, leaves it up to new nonprofit board

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City Council Chuck Hope, Warren Gooch, and Ellen Smith on Sept. 14, 2015

Pictured above at the Oak Ridge City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, when changes to the annual Secret City Festival were made, are Council members Chuck Hope, left, Mayor Warren Gooch, and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:36 a.m.

They’ve heard concerns about moving it to the fall, and the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday did not change the date of the annual Secret City Festival. Instead, Council left any potential date change up to a new nonprofit board that could be appointed in October.

It was one of a series of steps meant to make the Secret City Festival less costly for the city and less labor-intensive for the municipal staff, to rethink how it’s organized, and to make it self-sustaining. The festival could be incorporated into a new, expanded Secret City Celebration that could include other events.

A Special Events Advisory Task Force appointed by City Council in February had recommended moving the festival to the fall as part of a celebration that would last at least a week, start in October, and continue through Veterans Day, November 11.

But Council members and a few residents laid out some objections to the proposed date change, including “dicey weather” in the fall; the potentially cold temperatures, especially for nighttime concerts; conflicts with football and other fall events; and concerns over the possibility that the festival could again become saturated with political candidates in election years, now that municipal elections have been moved to November. There were also concerns about whether some organizations that now participate in the June festival, including artists and World War II re-enactors, could take part in the fall. [Read more…]

TDOT: Replacing ‘green bridge’ on US 25W in Clinton could cost $18.8 million

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on US 25W in Clinton is pictured above. Also known as “the green bridge,” it could cost $18.8 million to replace, state officials said Thursday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Replacing the Lewallen Bridge—known as “the green bridge” to locals—on US 25W in Clinton could cost $18.8 million, state officials said Thursday.

The bridge, officially known as the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge, crosses over the Clinch River, and it connects downtown Clinton to South Clinton.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said preliminary plans are under development to replace the major bridge, which connects the main route from Clinton to Knoxville. South of Clinton, the road is known as Clinton Highway.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer gave an update on that and other projects when they sat down with local and state officials in Knoxville on Thursday to discuss the region’s transportation and infrastructure needs, a press release said. [Read more…]

Council to discuss changes to Secret City Festival, selecting Charter Review Committee

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Secret City Festival World War II Re-enactment 2015

A Flak 88 firing during a Battle of Normandy re-enactment at the 2015 Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council during a work session on Tuesday will discuss proposed changes to the Secret City Festival and the process to select members of a Charter Review Committee.

See previous story on the recommended changes to the Secret City Festival here.

The Charter Review Committee is required by the Oak Ridge City Charter, Article Ill, Section 14.

Council could also receive updates on: [Read more…]