City of Clarksville’s request for signals at Edmondson Ferry Road approved by TDOT

Clarksville, TN – Tennessee officials have given the City of Clarksville a green light on its request to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Edmondson Ferry Road and the U.S. Highway 41A Bypass.

The City has been studying the intersection for years but renewed its efforts in July after Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan, City Street Department officials and Tennessee Department of Transportation leaders met with citizens from neighborhoods near the intersection who urged traffic signals be considered.

“TDOT Region 3 Traffic office reviewed the traffic study conducted by your office to determine the need for a traffic signal. We concur with your findings that the traffic volumes warrant a traffic signal at this intersection,” Phil Trammell, TDOT Region 3 Traffic Engineer, wrote Friday in a letter to Chris Cowan, City of Clarksville Traffic Engineer.

Mayor Kim McMillan said she was pleased TDOT has agreed with the City and will allow the traffic signals.

“This shows that the City is willing to listen to citizens and act on their concerns,” McMillan said. “We told residents we would study the intersection, and work with the state to do what the data indicated.”

TDOT’s approval was timely because a serious head-on crash on the Bypass last Wednesday claimed four lives. The wreck was more than a half-mile from the intersection, but had prompted renewed calls for action on the signalization request and other measures along the key stretch of roadway that connects Downtown Clarksville with Interstate 24 at Exit 11.

“People need to know that this action is not directly related to the tragic crash that occurred Wednesday,” Mayor McMillan said. “But I strongly support moving ahead with signals, and taking every reasonable action to make this roadway better for our citizens.”

The city’s study shows traffic volumes have increased significantly in recent months because of new homes and retail near the intersection, and the numbers justify the signalization.

McMillan and Cowan, in a letter to TDOT, have asked the state to “consider partnering with the City in some fashion to make improvements at this intersection including signalization.”

The City has a capital project with money set aside for improvements at the intersection, including separate turn lanes and lowering the approach grade of the south east approach.

“We’ve had this project under way,” Mayor McMillan said. “Now we will work with the state to add money and make the signals part of the improvements and get the work started as soon as possible.”