Clarksville, TN – The City of Clarksville is making significant headway on numerous street and highway improvement projects throughout the community, as it works toward reductions in traffic congestion, and greater ease of mobility for residents and visitors alike, in one of the region’s fastest-growing cities.
“We are proud to report that progress is being made all over our great city, both in the planning and execution of our comprehensive road improvement plan,” said Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts.
“We know that these transportation improvements rank high on the list of residents’ expectations of the City as we strive to manage growth stemming from our City’s appeal to people, worldwide. We, too, are committed to seeing these vital improvements through to timely completion,” Mayor Pitts said.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the Clarksville Street Department provides this update on some of the key projects on the Mayor’s Transportation 2020+ list:
Rossview Road
Phase 1 of this project was completed last year, to include widening Rossview Road from Powell Road to Dunbar Cave Road, to five lanes. This project has helped relieve traffic congestion around the Rossview Schools Complex.
The City also partnered with a developer to improve existing traffic congestion and serve the new Quiktrip development near Interstate 24 Exit 8, by signalizing the intersection of Powell and Rossview roads..
Phase 2 consists of widening Rossview Road from Dunbar Cave to Keysburg roads to three lanes, including the realignment of Dunbar Cave Road across from Cardinal Lane and the signalization of the Rossview Road and Cardinal Lane intersection.
Both phases of this project are state-funded, with the Tennessee Department of Transportation covering 80% of the cost. The City’s engineering consultant is updating the environmental study at the request of TDOT, and the City hopes to gain state approval later this year on the environmental study and be ready to start construction on phase 2 in early 2024.
Whitfield Road
Whitfield Road improvements have been delayed for the past year due to private utility companies’ slow response in relocating utilities from within the designated roadway rights-of-way.
With the utility work wrapping up, construction on the road should commence in the next few weeks. The City’s contractor will coordinate construction activities to minimize the traffic impacts to and from the nearby GlenEllen Elementary School.
Improvements will be made to Tracy Lane and 101st Airborne Division Parkway intersections with Whitfield Road along with the Needmore Road intersection. Road construction will continue through 2024.
Spring Creek Parkway
This is a proposed three-mile-long, four-lane divided road connecting Trenton Road with Wilma Rudolph Boulevard.
The Clarksville Area Urbanized Metropolitan Planning Organization’s long-range traffic projections indicate this road may carry as many as 30,000 vehicles per day, relieving both the 101st Airborne Division Parkway and Interstate 24. This project has been under development for many years.
Construction will begin this year with phase 1 which stretches 1.5 miles from Trenton Road to Spring Creek.
Environmental study and engineering design plans have been completed for phase 1. A contractor has been hired to begin this project and start construction on phase 1 this summer. The construction, according to the contract, will be completed within 18 months.
Right of way and easements are being acquired on the remaining portions of this project. Engineering and right-of-way acquisition for phase 2 will be completed by the end of the year.
Tylertown Road and Oakland Road
Phase 1 of the Tylertown Road widening is approximately one mile from Trenton Road to Cindy Jo Court. Over 60 parcels of rights-of-way and easements needed to be acquired for the first phase of this project. The City will be wrapping up the right-of-way acquisition later this year Once it is completed the City will begin the process of bidding on the project for construction.
Right-of-way acquisition for phases 2 and 3 will continue for Tylertown Road from Cindy Jo Court to Oakland Road, and on Oakland Road from Tylertown Road to Meriwether Road. These will form a three-lane road section with sidewalks on both sides of the road. Over 100 more parcels are included in Phases 2 and 3.
Memorial Drive
The Memorial Drive widening project is a locally funded (estimated $7 million) project that will be approximately 1.85 miles of road widening to three lanes with sidewalks, from Richview Road/Warfield Boulevard to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, and a new alignment connecting Memorial Drive to MLK Jr Parkway at Old Farmers Road.
This widening and realignment will improve the capacity of Memorial Drive for motorists, and provide multi-modal access to Richview Middle School, Crow Recreation Center, and Clarksville High School. The intersections of Memorial Drive and MLK JR Pkwy, and Old Farmers Road and MLK Jr Parkway will be signalized to promote safer traffic flow for all motorists in the area.
A public meeting was held on March 14th at Richview Middle School, from which public comments were received. It is anticipated that preliminary plans will be provided in late June incorporating comments and other information gathered at the public meeting.
Final right-of-way plans are anticipated to be provided late this summer. Then the City will begin the right-of-way and easement acquisition process which will take approximately 12-18 months.
Needmore Road
The Needmore Road widening project is a 100% locally funded (estimated $6 million) project that will be approximately 1.76 miles of road widening to five lanes with sidewalks, from Tiny Town Road to the Spring Creek bridge.
This widening and realignment will improve the capacity of Needmore Road for motorists.
The intersection of Needmore Road and Hazelwood Road has been signalized as an early-stage construction project to promote safer traffic flow for all motorists in the area.
Preliminary plans have been provided as of September 2022 that incorporated public comments. Final right-of-way plans are expected to be provided in November 2023. Then the City will begin the right-of-way and easement acquisition process which will take approximately 12-18 months.
Intersection Modifications
There are three intersections that are part of this project: Ted Crozier Boulevard and Dunlop Lane, Tiny Town Road and Allen Road, and Highway 76 and Fire Station Road.
This is a locally funded project that modifies these existing signalized intersections to improve efficiency and reduce congestion.
The specific intersections involved, are:
Ted Crozier Boulevard and Dunlop Lane
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Provide an additional left turn lane from Ted Crozier onto Dunlop Lane with signal modifications, and improved traffic signal timing
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Realign southbound Ted Crozier through lanes to account for an additional left turn lane onto Dunlop Lane.
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Provide an exclusive northbound right-turn lane from Ted Crozier to Dunlop Lane
Tiny Town Road and Allen Road
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Provide separate straight, left-, and right-turn lanes from Allen Road onto Tiny Town Road with signal modifications, and traffic signal timing
Highway 76 and Fire Station Road
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Extend the existing right-turn lane from Highway 76 to Winn Way
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Replace the existing shoulder ditch with a curb and gutter
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Widen Fire Station Road to three lanes with a middle two-way, left-turn lane
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Add sidewalks on both sides of Fire Station Road from Trough Springs to Winn Way.
The City of Clarksville is currently in the final stages of acquiring all necessary rights-of-way and easements on Fire Station Road. When this is completed, the City will bid these three intersections together as a single project.
Coming soon: A quarterly update on key sidewalk improvement projects coordinated through the Clarksville Street Department.
