• 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




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

Posted at 5:18 pm January 3, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

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…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: air emissions, City Council, City of Oak Ridge, Climate Action Plan, CMAQ, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Environmental Quality Advisory Board, greenhouse gas emissions, Jack Suggs, Jon van Eek, Oak Ridge Electric Department, signal timing, signal timing optimization, Steve Byrd, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, traffic congestion, traffic light study, traffic light timing, traffic patterns

EQAB Climate Action Plan: Oak Ridge reduces emissions, electrical use

Posted at 2:29 pm October 5, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The first progress report for Oak Ridge’s Climate Action Plan said greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use in city buildings are down and so is the annual electrical consumption for the average household.

Traffic signals use about 60 percent less electricity because of LED bulbs, and Oak Ridge has finished a home energy retrofit demonstration project that could be used as a model in the city, the report said.

Meanwhile, Oak Ridge has been recognized as a renewable energy leader by the Tennessee Valley Authority and is the first Green Power Community in Tennessee and in part of the Southeast. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: CAP, City Council, Climate Action Plan, Environmental Quality Advisory Board, EQAB, GHG, greenhouse gas emissions, Oak Ridge, progress report

TDOT presents $237,500 signal timing grant to Oak Ridge

Posted at 3:01 pm September 17, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

TDOT Commissioner John Schroer presents a signal optimization grant check to Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Grant for signal optimization

The City of Oak Ridge has been awarded a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant for $237,500 for a signal timing optimization project, and TDOT Commissioner John Schroer recently presented the award to Mayor Pro Tem Jane Miller in Nashville.

The signal timing optimization grant is funded by the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, or CMAQ, which supports transportation projects that reduce air emissions from on-road sources and non-road sources, as well as projects that reduce traffic congestion, a press release said.

“The city is pleased to receive this grant which will significantly enhance air quality and reduce congested roadways,” Oak Ridge City Engineer Steve Byrd said in the press release.

The signal timing optimization project will target 26 traffic signals on Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge Turnpike, and Lafayette Drive. The program will synchronize these lights in order to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and vehicle idling, and decrease commuter travel time. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, State, Top Stories Tagged With: air emissions, CAP, City Council, City of Oak Ridge, Climate Action Plan, CMAQ, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Environmental Quality Advisory Board, EQAB, greenhouse gas emissions, Illinois Avenue, Jane Miller, John Schroer, Lafayette Drive, Oak Ridge Turnpike, signal timing, signal timing optimization, Steve Byrd, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, traffic congestion, traffic flow, transportation, travel time, vehicle idling

NNSA: 2013 a year of important accomplishments, improvements

Posted at 11:06 pm January 7, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As 2014 begins, the National Nuclear Security Administration has released a list of some of its most important accomplishments and improvements during the past year. NNSA reached significant milestones in the areas of nonproliferation and counterterrorism, made a host of significant achievements through its work with the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile, and saw improved operations throughout the complex.

“In 2013, even with a challenging budget situation, NNSA’s successes ensured that the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure and effective; saved taxpayers millions of dollars; and supported emergency preparedness and the next generation of nuclear security workers,” said NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held. “Our people, both our government employees and the employees in our government-owned labs and plants, have done great work executing our mission and improving the way we do business.”

NNSA’s 2013 list highlights accomplishments in operations and at its sites, international partnerships to support nonproliferation and removals of dangerous materials, and emergency preparedness trainings and university programs. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: 2013, B61, Bruce Held, Climate Action Plan, counterterrorism, emergency training, Global Threat Reduction Initiative, GTRI, HEU, highly enriched uranium, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LEU, life extension program, Los Alamos National Laboratory, low enriched uranium, Megatons to Megawatts Program, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA, nonproliferation, nuclear bomb, nuclear warheads, nuclear weapons, Pantex Plant, R&D 100 Awards, R&D Magazine, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE announces new investment in small modular reactors

Posted at 12:24 pm December 16, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

mPower Containment

Conceptual drawing of an underground containment structure housing two B&W mPower reactor modules. (Image courtesy B&W)

The U.S. Department of Energy last week announced a second round of funding for small modular reactors.

The first award, announced earlier this year, provided support to Babcock and Wilcox Co. through a program that could result in small modular reactors at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in west Oak Ridge. In November, B&W announced it had already invested more than $360 million in that project, and the North Carolina company was looking for investors and possibly majority owners.

DOE said the new award was given to Oregon-based NuScale Power LLC to support a new project to design, certify, and help commercialize innovative small modular reactors in the United States.

The department said the reactors could provide clean, safe, and cost-effective nuclear energy, and build on President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to “continue America’s leadership in clean energy innovation.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: B&W, Babcock and Wilcox Co., Climate Action Plan, Clinch River Breeder Reactor, DOE, Energy Department, Ernest Moniz, Lamar Alexander, Nuclear Energy, nuclear power, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NuScale Power LLC, President Obama, Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support, small modular reactors, U.S. Department of Energy

Oak Ridge installing 10 electric vehicle charging stations

Posted at 4:57 pm October 4, 2012
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Oak Ridge has started installing 10 electric vehicle charging stations at five places in the city, and they should be ready to use by November, a press release said.

Two of the chargers, called Level II Blink chargers, will be installed at each of these five locations: the Oak Ridge Civic Center, Haw Ridge Park, Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, and Oak Ridge Fire Station No. 1 and Fire Station No. 2.

“The sites were selected on the basis of proximity to a frequently visited destination, or heavily traveled corridor,” the press release said.

The Level II chargers are able to fully charge a vehicle in four to six hours, and they will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The city is not required to pay an installation fee but will cover the minimal cost associated with electric consumption, the release said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, CAP, charging stations, Climate Action Plan, ECOtality, electric vehicle, Electric Vehicle Project, EV Project, Level II Blink, U.S. Department of Energy

Search Oak Ridge Today

Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Victim of Claxton shooting reported to be in critical but stable condition
  • Oak Ridge man dies in motorcycle crash on Oak Ridge Turnpike
  • Roane State helps with experiment to provide high-speed Internet access to rural communities
  • Parking at Melton Lake Park to be closed for regatta March 13 & 14
  • Regatta season starts next week
  • ORISE receives DOE silver award for GreenBuy program
  • Blasius to discuss Downtown Oak Ridge on Tuesday
  • Oak Ridge releases water quality report
  • Granholm, a former governor, now energy secretary
  • Gov. Lee lifts nursing home restrictions, extends state of emergency
A Twitter List by OakRidgeToday

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today