Note: This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. March 14.
Hoping to improve safety, state officials plan to install a stoplight west of Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the intersection of State Route 95 and Bethel Valley Road.
The stoplight and other geometric improvements have been endorsed by Johnny O. Moore, U.S. Department of Energy manager at the ORNL Site Office.
“This intersection poses safety problems for the general public, as well as employees of ORNL, and these proposed improvements would be greatly appreciated,” Moore said in a Feb. 6 letter to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson.
The project could cost $200,000. The Tennessee Department of Transportation would fund it through the Federal Highway Administration Highway Safety Project. Oak Ridge City Engineer Steve Byrd said this type of project qualifies for 100 percent federal funding.
On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council approved an agreement that would make the city responsible for maintenance after the stoplight is built. The annual maintenance cost for the city is expected to be about $1,500.
DOE would provide power to the traffic signal through ORNL.
Byrd said ORNL has been working with TDOT to improve safety at the intersection. Watson told Council members on Monday that there are a significant number of vehicles turning left off Bethel Valley Road and onto SR 95, headed to Lenoir City, at about 5 p.m. on weekdays.
“In 2012, TDOT reviewed the intersection and determined that vehicle crashes were occurring due to insufficient traffic control devices, combined with heavy turning movements during peak traffic periods,” Byrd said. “TDOT performed a traffic study and determined that a traffic signal and other geometric improvements on SR 95 are needed to improve capacity and safety. The geometric improvements include a right-turn deceleration lane from SR 95 onto Bethel Valley Road.”
Byrd said the Oak Ridge municipal staff worked with TDOT to ensure that several concerns were addressed, resulting in several more traffic control measures:
- a traffic signal flashing warning beacon on the southbound downgrade approach to the intersection to provide advance warning of the traffic signal,
- vehicle radar detection system in lieu of pavement loop detection to minimize signal maintenance, and
- a battery backup system to the electric power source provided by ORNL.
TDOT plans to put the project out for bids in May, and construction could take six months, once a bid has been approved.
The Oak Ridge City Council meeting started at 7 p.m. Monday in the Municipal Building Courtroom. See the agenda here.
Steve Dittner says
And a roundabout would solve this issue with no ongoing maintenance, but that’s too progressive for this small town
Dave Smith says
I think a roundabout (a.k.a., a traffic circle) merits consideration. There is already a miniature traffic circle on Bethel Valley Road at the main entrance to ORNL that is traversed by thousands of cars and trucks each day, so I don’t share your dim view of the progressive nature of “this small town.” I would agree that drivers from outside of Oak Ridge might be initially confounded by a traffic circle but surely they would get used to it. Many days I pass by the intersection of Bethel Valley Rd and SR 95 and see dozens of cars queued up on Bethel Valley, waiting at the stop sign and trying to turn left into the southbound lane of SR 95. A traffic circle would surely alleviate this problem much more efficiently than a traffic light.
The difficulty I see with constructing the traffic circle is the requirement for a large amount of land to build the circle. Two lanes would be necessary and the outer diameter of the circle would necessarily be a hundred feet or more to provide a suitable turning radius for the many 18-wheelers that use SR 95. I don’t think the current right-of-way is large enough to accommodate such a large construction, and a significant amount of earth-moving would be required to build a widened roadbed.
Maybe Steve Byrd needs to hear this suggestion.
Steve Dittner says
I believe the drivers would easily adapt to the roundabout, it’s the mentality of the City of OR. They see traffic and the solution=more red lights. Look at South Illinois, what a mess! As for land, there would be nothing standing in the way between the right of way being granted by DOE which, I believe, owns or controls all of the surrounding land.
Dave Smith says
Steve, where did you hear that DOE was granting right-of-way on DOE property? From the article it appears that DOE’s only contribution to the project is an endorsement of “a stoplight and other geometric improvements.”
Also, according to the article, the stoplight as well as “several more traffic control measures” are the brainchild of TDOT, the same governmental organization that hatched the ill-fated blue/green/orange I-75/I-40 bypass and oversaw a 20-year-long effort to widen of I-40 through Knoxville. Think about it: What could possibly go wrong with the installation of a traffic light at Bethel Valley/SR 95 when TDOT is managing the project?
Steve Dittner says
I did not hear anywhere of DOE granting the right of way, only a suggestion that they could to facilitate the roundabout. And yes, you are correct that TDOT will mismanage this as well.
Ellen Smith says
The option of a roundabout was most definitely considered. (I heard about it from city staff a couple of years ago.) Apparently, engineering analysis showed that a roundabout would be the optimal solution for both safety and traffic flow at that intersection.
Unfortunately, a roundabout would cost a lot more than a stoplight. That higher cost is the reason why TDOT, DOE, and the city (yes, all three parties are involved) are going forward with a stoplight instead of a roundabout. Due to the availability of money from the state and DOE, the stoplight can be installed at no cost to the city (other than the long-term cost of upkeep). If a roundabout was built, the city would have had to kick in a big chunk of the cost. Particularly when you consider that the safety and congestion problems at this intersection are due to people who work in Oak Ridge but don’t live here — and the roundabout or stoplight will make their commute easier, it did not make sense for city residents to foot the bill for the project.