Clogged Artery
Knox County Commissioner Mark Cawood writes in his blog how getting a permission from the state of Tennessee to replace the one lane bridge on Byington-Ball Camp Road took years of fighting against DOT bureaucrats. While I commend Commissioner Cawood for his effort, I think his energy in this matter has been misdirected; in fact, I see widening the bridge about as useful as changing a flat tire when the engine has blown up. Allow me to elaborate:
State Route 131 along Byington-Beaver Ridge Rd to Byington-Ballcamp Rd is the main artery - the only major road - between the “Karns Red Light” intersection on Oak Ridge Highway in Karns and Middlebrook Pike/Hardin Valley Rd. Over 10,000 vehicles take the route daily. On the Karns side, the posted speed limit is 20mph, but the real vehicle speed is seldom under 45mph, and the narrow has to handle traffic going to and from the Karns Middle School along Garrison Rd., and coming from Byington-Solway Road towards Oak Ridge.
At the one lane railway underpass, there are blind corners to both directions - certainly more dangerous than the one lane bridge. Furthermore, the road forks there to Westbridge Industrial Park, which due to some unfathomable idiocy of zoning planners also hosts the Karns High School. Every morning and afternoon, commuters and parents picking up their children are forced to play chicken with school buses, freight trains and semi-trucks getting in and out of the industrial park. Bridge construction on Byington-Ballcamp will direct traffic to the industrial park and make the situation even worse.
As early as in 1997, the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization recommended building the "Karns Connector", a four-lane road from West Emory Road to Oak Ridge Highway to Harding Valley Road, bypassing the SR 131 in Karns entirely. In the Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission's 15 year transportation plan from the year 2002, improving the Ball Camp-Byington Road and Byington-Beaver Ridge Road connectors were deemed infeasible, and the recommended solution was to build the Karns Connector. In the Knox County Five Year Capital Improvement Plan, funding for Karns Connector was recommended for years 2005 and 2007. However, in the latest Knox County budget, completing the Karns Connector has been postponed until 2009!
Meanwhile, I suppose one will have to be grateful for small favors.
State Route 131 along Byington-Beaver Ridge Rd to Byington-Ballcamp Rd is the main artery - the only major road - between the “Karns Red Light” intersection on Oak Ridge Highway in Karns and Middlebrook Pike/Hardin Valley Rd. Over 10,000 vehicles take the route daily. On the Karns side, the posted speed limit is 20mph, but the real vehicle speed is seldom under 45mph, and the narrow has to handle traffic going to and from the Karns Middle School along Garrison Rd., and coming from Byington-Solway Road towards Oak Ridge.
At the one lane railway underpass, there are blind corners to both directions - certainly more dangerous than the one lane bridge. Furthermore, the road forks there to Westbridge Industrial Park, which due to some unfathomable idiocy of zoning planners also hosts the Karns High School. Every morning and afternoon, commuters and parents picking up their children are forced to play chicken with school buses, freight trains and semi-trucks getting in and out of the industrial park. Bridge construction on Byington-Ballcamp will direct traffic to the industrial park and make the situation even worse.
As early as in 1997, the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization recommended building the "Karns Connector", a four-lane road from West Emory Road to Oak Ridge Highway to Harding Valley Road, bypassing the SR 131 in Karns entirely. In the Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission's 15 year transportation plan from the year 2002, improving the Ball Camp-Byington Road and Byington-Beaver Ridge Road connectors were deemed infeasible, and the recommended solution was to build the Karns Connector. In the Knox County Five Year Capital Improvement Plan, funding for Karns Connector was recommended for years 2005 and 2007. However, in the latest Knox County budget, completing the Karns Connector has been postponed until 2009!
Meanwhile, I suppose one will have to be grateful for small favors.
1 Comments:
Well, on the plus side, at least the closing of the Tom's plant will reduce traffic....
/snark off
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