May 29, 2024 Meeting on Washington Pike Corridor Traffic & Safety
The City recently received Notice to Proceed approval from the Tennessee Department of Transportation to begin acquiring rights of way for a redesign of the Washington Pike corridor between Interstate 640 and Murphy Road.
The estimated $17 million project will improve traffic flow and safety, and as the project enters its next phase, a follow-up public meeting has been organized to update area residents, businesses and churches.
The public meeting will be held 6-8 pm. on Wednesday, May 29, at the New Harvest Park Community Building, 4775 New Harvest Lane.
Meeting attendees will be introduced to the team with the City’s rights-of-way acquisition consultant, Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson (JMT).
The ROW acquisition phase is expected to continue for up to 18 months. The project calls for purchasing nearly 60 property easements.
The road redesign will add turn lanes and correct accident-prone intersections. On average, there’s an accident every four days at Washington Pike and Lifespring Lane. But that’s just one example. There are issues with other overworked intersections and the existing roads being unable to accommodate the volume of traffic throughout the corridor.
Washington Pike would remain five lanes on the western end of the project area, where Greenway Drive ties in near the Target store. The pike would narrow to three lanes by New Harvest Lane, then expand back to five lanes, including a turn lane, at Steeple Shadow Way and Babelay Road and continue on in that configuration to the City limits at Murphy Road.
At that point, turn lanes would carry traffic onto Murphy or Pullman roads, and Washington Pike to the east would continue in its current two lanes.
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June 15, 2022 Meeting Set on Washington Pike Planting Design
Last September, stakeholders at a well-attended public meeting discussed the latest draft of a $17 million plan to improve traffic flow and safety along the Washington Pike corridor inside the northeastern City limits, between Interstate 640 and Murphy Road.
It was the third City-convened community meeting on the project in 2021. At each juncture, residents’ suggestions were heard, evaluated and incorporated into the plan, if supported by data and engineering best practices.
The proposed road redesign adds turn lanes and corrects accident-prone intersections, but it also creates – for the first time – wide bicycle and pedestrian paths and a park-like environmentally-friendly planting design.
With construction scheduled to begin in about two years, the City and its design team are inviting community members to another public meeting – this one, specifically to delve into the planting elements.
The meeting will be held Wednesday, June 15, at 6 p.m. at New Harvest Park.
Click here to view the landscape plan.
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September 22, 2021 Meeting on
Washington Pike Corridor Traffic & Safety
A Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 public meeting has been set to discuss an estimated $17 million project to improve traffic flow and safety along the Washington Pike corridor inside the northeastern City limits, between Interstate 640 and Murphy Road. The proposed design also provides wide bicycle and pedestrian paths.
The problems are simple and obvious: Overworked intersections and a lack of turn lanes. And too many accidents – one every four days at Washington Pike and Lifespring Lane.
The solution? Much more complex.
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MEETING FILES
May 2021 Washington Pike Roll Plot
with Public Meeting Comments
Click image for larger view in PDF format
September 2021 Washington Pike Roll Plot with Changes from May 2021 Suggestions
Click image for larger view in PDF format
September 2021 Washington Pike
Landscape Opportunities Plan
Click here for larger view in PDF format
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The design plans for this project were previously completed up to the right-of-way acquisition phase for the original proposed five-lane typical section. In 2018, the project was put on hold because of funding constraints. In 2020, the project designer was asked to perform an analysis of the proposed project limits with a specific focus on traffic and pedestrian safety. This analysis resulted in a proposed design where the width of the road and the number of lanes will fluctuate based on a blend of traffic counts, crash data, and engineering best practices. In the current design, Washington Pike will remain five lanes on the western end of the project area, where Greenway Drive ties in near the Target store. Washington Pike will narrow to three lanes by New Harvest Lane, then expand back to five lanes, including a turn lane, at Steeple Shadow Way and Babelay Road and continue in that configuration to the City limits at Murphy Road. Turn lanes will carry traffic onto Murphy or Pullman Roads, and Washington Pike to the east will continue in its current two lanes. Along the project corridor, two 10-foot multi-use pedestrian & bicycle paths will be built connecting existing parks and greenways.
Click here to view the current Engineering project sheet [PDF] with links to files and archives.
MAY 2024 STATUS
Upon completing a reevaluation of the project with a specific focus on traffic and pedestrian safety, a meeting with leaders of the Alice Bell / Spring Hill Neighborhood was held via Zoom on January 20, 2021. Subsequently, a public meeting was held at New Harvest Park on May 19, 2021, to solicit input on the new proposed lane configurations. Most recently the City held a public meeting at New Harvest Park on September 22, 2021, to discuss revised alignments, slope limits, and conceptual plans for landscaping. Qualifications for title examination and closing services for the project were received on October 22, 2021. A contract for real estate title examination and closing services with Tennessee Valley Title was awarded at the January 11, 2022, City Council Meeting. Work to include comments from recent public meetings, update design plans, and perform a NEPA Reevaluation is ongoing. Coordination documents for a NEPA reevaluation were submitted to TDOT on March 24, 2022. A public meeting was held on June 15, 2022. A utility coordination meeting was held on November 7, 2022. A right-of-way services contract was approved with Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. at the February 6, 2024 City Council Meeting. A Notice to Proceed to the right-of-way phase was received from TDOT on April 11, 2024 and a Public meeting regarding the ROW acquisition process is scheduled for May 29, 29024 at the New Harvest Park Community Building. This project’s projected bid date is January 2026.
DESIGNER / CONTACT
Project Designer: CDM Smith
City of Knoxville Contact: George Daws, PE at 865-215-6100