• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Oak Ridge receives $237,000 air quality grant for traffic signal timing

Posted at 2:28 pm August 22, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 8 Comments

Stoplight

Oak Ridge has received a $237,500 air quality grant that will be used to coordinate the operations of traffic signals at 26 intersections on three main roads: Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Lafayette Drive.

The grant will improve the management of current and future traffic flow and reduce congestion and vehicle idling, according to a project summary posted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

It was one of 31 grants totaling more than $27 million announced in 11 communities across Tennessee on Friday. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, or CMAQ, grants were announced by TDOT Commissioner John Schroer.

The grants are meant to reduce congestion and improve air quality. Funded projects include expansions of the TDOT HELP truck program statewide, improvements in traffic signal timing, cleaner transit buses and alternative fuel vehicles purchases, and protected bicycle lanes in Chattanooga. The grants also include a multimodal river port in Clarksville, and expanded transit service in several areas. Another project will include the addition of a bicycle-pedestrian trail on the Harahan Bridge in downtown Memphis.

The Oak Ridge project is known as a signal timing optimization program. It uses $237,500 in CMAQ funds and is 100 percent federally funded, according to the project summary.

“These projects are helping our transportation network operate more efficiently, while also providing better transportation options for our citizens,” Schroer said. “The result will be better air quality and reduced congestion, which improves the quality of life for Tennesseans and creates more livable communities all over the state.”

The CMAQ Program funds transportation projects that reduce air emissions from on-road sources (cars, trucks, buses) and non-road sources (locomotives, barges, road construction equipment), as well as projects that reduce traffic congestion. CMAQ projects are limited to nonattainment or maintenance counties where air quality fails to attain national health standards. For most CMAQ projects, TDOT will provide 80 percent of the project funding, with the remaining 20 percent provided by the local project sponsor.

“From better traffic signal coordination in Gatlinburg to expanded park and ride options for several Memphis communities, many of these projects will offer great benefits to travelers across the state,” said Deputy Commissioner Toks Omishakin, chief of TDOT’s Environment and Planning Bureau. “Through this program, we are also making great strides in our efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality.”

For a list of CMAQ grant recipients and detailed information on each project, visit http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/news/2014/cmaq/.

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, State, Top Stories Tagged With: air emissions, air quality, air quality grant, alternative fuel, bicycle lanes, bicycle-pedestrian, CMAQ, congestion, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, Environment and Planning Bureau, Illinois Avenue, John Schroer, Lafayette Drive, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Turnpike, signal timing optimization, TDOT, TDOT HELP, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Toks Omishakin, traffic congestion, traffic signal, traffic signal timing, transit bus

Advertisements

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Government News

Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-6-Feb-11-2020

Motorsports park will not be built in Oak Ridge

Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park was proposed on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak … [Read More...]

Political redistricting to be discussed at Lunch with League

Debby Gould Political redistricting will be discussed at Lunch with the League in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, April 20. The virtual meeting is scheduled to start at noon April 20. It is hosted by the League of Women … [Read More...]

Death penalty to be discussed at Lunch with League

Marshall Jensen The death penalty in America will be discussed during a Lunch with the League meeting at noon today (Tuesday, April 6). The virtual meeting is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. It … [Read More...]

City of Oak Ridge Seal

Planning Commission to discuss site plans for storage facility, apartments

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will discuss a site plan for the planned storage facility at Main Street Oak Ridge and apartments on Emory Valley Road on Thursday. The storage facility would be built along … [Read More...]

Secret City Festival scheduled for September

A previous Secret City Festival is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge) Canceled last year, the postponed Secret City Festival is scheduled for September this year. Normally held in June, the Secret … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center
  • Public Notice: Final environmental assessment available for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12
  • THP report: Child hit by pickup walked into travel lane
  • First Presbyterian offers free meals, groceries Thursday
  • Girl hit by vehicle on Edgemoor Road
  • Motorsports park will not be built in Oak Ridge
  • Boy hit by vehicle near JMS
  • Political redistricting to be discussed at Lunch with League
  • The Other One Diner moving to Turnpike
  • Death penalty to be discussed at Lunch with League

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today