Oak Ridge Today

City to present design for converting railroad to trail

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The City of Oak Ridge continues to work on a Rails to Trails project that has been planned for years and will convert 4.6 miles of unused railroad into a greenway for walkers, runners, and bicyclists.

The city will have a drop-in public meeting about the project from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 10, in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Gym. The trail design and next steps will be presented, and the city will seek input from residents. Masks are encouraged at the meeting, the city said.

The greenway along the former CSX railroad will extend from east Oak Ridge past Jefferson Middle School to Y-12 National Security Complex. It will start at Elza Gate at the Oak Ridge Turnpike; run along Belgrade Road, Warehouse Road, Fairbanks Road, and Lafayette Drive; and cross South Illinois Avenue to the Y-12 National Security Complex entrance on Scarboro Road.

“The greenway system brings parkland nearer to all Oak Ridge citizens,” Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick said. “It provides opportunity for motor-less commuting, enjoyable physical exercise, learning experiences about wildlife, and connections to parks, schools, and shopping areas.”

[Read more…]

Work starts on next phase of Rails to Trails

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Work has started on the next phase of Rails to Trails, a project to convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway in the center of Oak Ridge.

After about six months of discussions, the City of Oak Ridge has a right of entry, which allows geotechnical and surveying work to be done on the former railroad, said Jon Hetrick, director of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. Geotechnical work allows holes to be bored in the ground for subsurface studies.

The survey and geotechnical work is being done by A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport. The Oak Ridge City Council awarded a $358,317 contract to that company in May. A. Morton Thomas is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding.

After a Tuesday evening City Council work session, Hetrick said the geotechnical and survey work is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The city hopes to have the NEPA phase approved through the Tennessee Department of Transportation by August, Hetrick said. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves Rails to Trails engineering contract

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. May 15.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved an engineering contract for the Rails to Trails project, which would convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway.

The consulting contract, worth an estimated $358,317, was awarded to A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport.

The agreement, approved 7-0, is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick told City Manager Mark Watson in a May 4 memo.

There is still much work to be done, including buying the former railroad, and the project might not go out to bid until May 2020, or two years from now, according to a draft timeline presented at the City Council meeting on Monday. And that’s assuming all goes well.

“Design and engineering will provide construction cost estimates and a phasing schedule, along with a basis for negotiating the acquisition of the rail line from CSX Rail,” Hetrick said. “Because the current programmed funding will not cover the entire project cost, the master plan will be used to leverage additional funding for construction from various funding sources, including federal highway and private funds.” [Read more…]

UT MBA team to present Rails to Trails study findings

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway, which could be converted into a bike and pedestrian greenway, is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A team of graduate students from the University of Tennessee’s Master of Business Administration program will present recommendations next week to the City of Oak Ridge from a recent project that focused on how the city can promote its proposed Rails to Trails program.

The presentation, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, will be in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom on South Tulane Avenue. It is open to the public.

The Rails to Trails project in Oak Ridge would convert about 4.85 miles of unused CSX railroad into a pedestrian and bicycle trail. The city has received a $1.2 million grant for the project and approved a $1.5 million contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, but there is still much work to be done, including acquiring the property and designing and building the trail. Officials suggest it could be several years at least before the project is completed.

The former railroad starts at Elza Gate Park at Melton Lake Drive in east Oak Ridge, runs past the Emory Heights neighborhood and Jefferson Middle School, crosses Emory Valley Road near Hank’s Market, and then continues through the Hendrix Creek neighborhood along Lafayette Drive before ending near South Illinois Avenue, Scarboro Road, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The study of the Rails to Trails program took the group of four MBA students about seven weeks to complete, a press release said. [Read more…]

Council approves contract with TDOT for Rails to Trails project

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $1.5 million contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation that is expected to allow a former railroad to be converted into a greenway.

The so-called Rails to Trails project will convert about 4.85 miles of unused CSX railroad into a pedestrian and bicycle trail.

The former railroad starts at Elza Gate Park at Melton Lake Drive in east Oak Ridge, runs past the Emory Heights neighborhood and Jefferson Middle School, crosses Emory Valley Road near Hank’s Market, and then continues through the Hendrix Creek neighborhood along Lafayette Drive before ending near South Illinois Avenue, Scarboro Road, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) approved $1.224 million for the project in October 2016 through the Transportation Alternative Program, or TAP. There is a local 20 percent match of $306,000, which would be provided by the City of Oak Ridge. The combined funding from the TAP award and the local match is $1.53 million.

The overall cost of the Rails to Trails project isn’t clear. The property has not been purchased, and the TAP grant, federal money disbursed here through the Federal Highway Act, does not include purchase, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin told City Council members on Monday.

“This is not the total amount,” Baldwin said. “This does not include purchase.” [Read more…]

Council to consider contract to convert former railroad into greenway

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a $1.5 million contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation that would allow a former railroad to be converted into a greenway.

The so-called Rails to Trails project would convert about 4.85 miles of unused CSX railroad into a pedestrian and bicycle trail.

The former railroad starts at Elza Gate Park at Melton Lake Drive in east Oak Ridge, runs past the Emory Heights neighborhood and Jefferson Middle School, crosses Emory Valley Road near Hank’s Market, and then continues through the Hendrix Creek neighborhood along Lafayette Drive before ending near South Illinois Avenue, Scarboro Road, and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) approved $1.224 million for the project in October 2016 through the Transportation Alternative Program, or TAP. There is a local match of $306,000. The combined funding from the TAP award and the local match is $1.53 million.

In an interview after the grant was awarded, Ellen Zavisca, senior transportation planner for the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, said it’s federal funds disbursed in the area specifically for projects that provide safe places for bicycle and pedestrian projects. [Read more…]

Repair work done, Johnson Gap Road bridge open again

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Johnson Gap Road Bridge

The repair work is down, and the Johnson Gap Road bridge re-opened last week. (Photo by Robert McKamey)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The bridge on Johnson Gap Road in Anderson County’s Dutch Valley community re-opened last week, a year and a half after it was shut down due to safety concerns.

State inspectors ordered the 100-year-old wooden bridge closed in July 2013 after finding that the wooden support structures were compromised and posed a safety hazard.

The bridge is owned by CSX Railroad, and it is the primary shortcut that Dutch Valley residents use to get to and from Clinton and Oak Ridge, and the shutdown frustrated many.

Work to repair the bridge finally got under way last month.

Johnson Gap Road bridge being repaired

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Johnson Gap Road Bridge

The Johnson Gap Road Bridge is pictured above closed on January 1, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari) 

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Note: This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. Feb. 3.

Work on the long-awaited project to repair the CSX Railroad-owned bridge on Johnson Gap Road in the Dutch Valley community has finally begun.

Anderson County Commission Chairman Robert McKamey told WYSH Radio in Clinton that the railroad has assured him the work should be done within the next three to four weeks.

Crews on Monday began the long-awaited repair of the bridge. [Read more…]

Update: Repairs to Johnson Gap Road Bridge could begin soon

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Commission Chairman Robert McKamey says he has been in regular contact with a project manager for CSX Railroad, and the repairs planned at the Johnson Gap Road Bridge are still expected to begin before the end of this month.

The bridge has been closed for almost a year and a half after state inspectors determined it was unsafe for travel. Residents and emergency responders have complained bitterly about the extra time that it now takes to get to and from Clinton from that part of Dutch Valley.

Earlier this year, the company gave the county two options for addressing the problem—replacing it at county expense or repairing it at theirs. The County Commission voted to let the company pay for repairing the bridge, and McKamey told WYSH Radio in Clinton that the project is slated to begin sometime in the second half of November and could be completed by the end of the year.

Johnson Gap Road bridge repair, replacement under study

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Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager has offered an update on the status of the Johnson Gap Road Bridge, owned by CSX Railroad and closed since earlier this year due to structural concerns found by the state during a routine investigation.

The bridge is owned by the railroad, and it is the only entity that can legally make the repairs and get the bridge back open. Many people in that area, which is northwest of Clinton, depend on that bridge to get to and from their homes.

The latest update, according to Yeager, is that the bridge replacement or repair is under analysis by CSX’s property asset division. No decisions have been made. Yeager says that he has spoken to railroad officials three times by telephone and in several emails. [Read more…]