Tennessee Department of Transportation officials gave a presentation about possible improvements to a 2.6-mile section of Clinton Highway between Edgemoor Road and the Anderson County-Knox County line at a community meeting in Claxton on Thursday, July 7, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
CLAXTON—The Tennessee Department of Transportation is considering modifying a 2.6-mile section of Clinton Highway where there have been 10 fatal crashes in a decade. The four-lane roadway could be reduced to three lanes with a passing lane and a center turn lane.
The proposal was presented at a community meeting at the Claxton Community Center on Thursday evening. It wasn’t a TDOT public meeting, but TDOT officials gave a presentation at the request of Anderson County officials.
There have been 10 fatal crashes in 10 years on a 2.6-mile section of Clinton Highway between Edgemoor Road and the Anderson County-Knox County line, TDOT said.
“That’s pretty high in a small section of roadway,” said Nathan Vatter, TDOT regional traffic engineer. “It’s a significant number of fatalities.”
In addition to the fatal crashes, there have been 11 crashes with incapacitating injuries, 87 other injuries, and 252 total crashes.
The short section of roadway includes a hilly, curvy area with no median or center lane. The roadway shoulders are limited in areas, the speed limit is 50 mph, and there are several areas with no buffers between traffic traveling north and south, meaning vehicles zoom past each other around curves while moving in opposite directions. [Read more…]
