Virtue, Boyd Station project advances with safety upgrades
The prospect of improvements to Virtue and Boyd Station roads moved closer to reality when the Farragut Municipal Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approving preliminary plans during its meeting Thursday, Aug. 21.
The improvements would be made south of Needlegrass Lane to Willow Cove Way.
“The town completed improvements to Virtue Road from Kingston Pike to approximately 1,200 feet south of Needlegrass Lane — Brookmere Subdivision — in 2022,” Town Engineer Darryl Smith said. “This project will extend the improvements south to Boyd Station Road and west along Boyd Station Road to Willow Cove Way.
“The project will tie to improvements of Boyd Station Road currently being constructed by Saddlebrook Properties as part of development of the Grove at Boyd Station subdivision,” he said. “The project will widen the roadway from its current width of approximately 20 feet to two 11-foot lanes with curb and gutter.
“A 10-foot boardwalk will extend along the east side of Virtue Road from Turkey Creek Road to a point approximately 1,300 feet south, at which point pedestrians will cross Virtue Road to a 10-foot-wide shared-use path that will tie to a greenway extending into the Grove at Boyd Station subdivision,” Smith said.
Jason Elliott, a consultant with LDA Engineering, which designed the improvement plans, said the boardwalk is “all timber except for the stainless steel tension cables, which make up the railing, and it’s really attractive.
“We’ve actually done several of these in Blount County,” he added.
“The project will address both horizontal and vertical deficiencies, such as limited sight distance,” Smith said.
“It also does flatten the curve where Virtue Road ends and Boyd Station begins,” he added.
In presenting the preliminary plans, Elliott highlighted the safety features.
“We are widening the lanes slightly from an existing 10-foot width to 11-foot lanes, which is about what (Tennessee Department of Transportation) likes to see,” he said. “We’re adding curb and gutter on both sides of the road. That creates a somewhat physical obstruction to the edge of the road.”
Elliott said plans also include improving the road’s geometry.
“There wasn’t a lot of improvement to be made out there, but there were a few locations,” he said, referring to the 90-degree curve from Virtue to Boyd Station Road. “We’re going to flatten that curve out.”
Commissioner Louise Povlin asked about the sight distance at a home near the curve.
“Is their sight distance going to be improved with this plan?” she asked. “My feeling is with the project, people will be able to take this turn a little faster than they can right now.”
To help, “we’re chopping that hill down, which is their front yard basically … to create a ditch on the edge of the road,” Elliott said. “So, they should be able to see pretty well.”
Another issue, to the north, was a hump in the road that limited sight distance. He said the plan is to cut down that high point by 18 inches.
“That greatly improved the sight distance for people coming out of that homeowner’s driveway and turning left,” Elliott said.
“The project is being funded through the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization using Surface Transportation Block Grant and local funds,” Smith said.
