traffic light coming to boyd’s creek

By Brooke Stevenson     
A Tennessee Department of Transportation safety project will take place at a local intersection.
    The improvements to the intersection at Boyds Creek and Old Sevierville Pike will include grading, drainage, construction of a concrete box bridge, paving, and the addition of traffic signals and a right turn lane.
    “The official reason why we are doing it is because there has been crash data in the area to support a safety project at the intersection,” said TDOT Communications Officer Travis Brickey.
    He added that the project has been in the works for about two years and the apparent low bidder on the project has recently been announced, but the contract is not yet awarded.
    Charles Blalock & Sons, Inc. of Sevierville came in with the apparent lowest bid for the project at $1.2 million and TDOT is currently reviewing the company’s proposal.
    Without any unforeseen problems with the proposal, the bid will be awarded, the bond will be finalized and the project will begin four to six weeks later.
    It is currently estimated that the safety project will be finished by the end of July 2010.
    As for other congested intersections in the area, such as U.S. 411 and Chapman Hwy, Brickey said there are currently no other improvement projects in the works.
    “There are just a lot of folks that live out in that area and it tends to be congested at peek times,” he said.
    Senator Overbey and Representative Montgomery have been actively pursuing the expansion of Hwy 411.