Elected officials and neighborhood stakeholders will celebrate the completion of improvements to the intersection at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Fern Street in Burlington at 10:30 a.m. on August 27, 2018. 

The improvements include ADA curb cuts, stamped asphalt crosswalks and a resurfaced intersection. State Rep. Rick Staples, representing the 15th House District, secured $127,000 through the State of Tennessee to make improvements in the Burlington Commercial District.

The three-way intersection is adjacent to a grocery store, four churches, a popular weekend restaurant and a handful of other commercial buildings, one of which is undergoing renovations with the assistance of the City Community Development Department’s Façade Improvement Program. 

Improvements to the Burlington neighborhood were outlined in the Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan that was completed in 2009. The East Tennessee Community Design Center’s Vision Plan for the Burlington District, particularly its recommendation for the need for visible crosswalks, was instrumental in the upgrade of this intersection.