More than 9,000 additional trips per day on the 11E are expected, according to a recent traffic study, due to all the new developments that are taking place in Greeneville.
The Greeneville City Council received traffic study results from Mattern and Craig Engineers on a section of the 11E, starting at the intersection of the Erwin Highway toward the intersection of Harlan Street and Morgan Road. The analysis showed the developments like Seven Brew Drive Thru Coffee, new restaurants, the ‘Shops at Greeneville’ site, new housing, and a potential new school on Jeff Woods Memorial Drive, will generate 9,300 additional trips per day.
The analysis also revealed that section of the 11E shows a crash rate that exceeded the state average. The main areas of concern that showed a crash rate over the state average is areas along Snapps Ferry Road, Old Stage Road, Serral Drive, South Rufe Taylor Road, and sections Morgan Road, Harlan Street, and North Rufe Taylor Road.
Several recommendations were made by the engineers, short term and long term, but ultimately the short terms goals, although more affordable, would not fix the traffic problems in the future. Some long term solutions along North Rufe Taylor Road, Old Stage Road, and Serral Drive include to widen the street and provide three 12 foot-wide lanes with one travel lane in each direction, and a continuous two-way left turn lane.
Some short term recommendations were to modify the traffic signals to line up and run concurrently, adding a 12-foot wide lane along Harlan Street, near the proposed entrance for the apartment complex developers want to build, or perhaps adding a traffic signal near the Snapps Ferry and Old Stage Road intersection. The results were certainly a lot to take in and consider.
No estimates were provided during the presentation but for long term solutions, deciding to widen the roads to create three 12-foot wide lanes could potentially cost a couple million dollars per mile. City Manager Todd Smith suggested putting a team together who could come up with a 5-10 year plan for the council and there will be a follow up discussion in the future.
