Funding forces delay of road project
The Canton Hollow Road improvement project has been put on hold for “a few years,” according to Jim Snowden, director of Knox County Engineering and Public Works.
“I greatly appreciate your understanding,” he said about the delay. “My department is responsible for implementing roadway improvements, and, sadly in this case, for making the hard decision to defer Canton Hollow so that another large project can proceed.
“This project involves widening Schaad Road — from Oak Ridge Highway to Pleasant Ridge Road.
“Both projects have an estimated construction cost of $20-$22 million, and as you can imagine, $40 million is a burden we can’t perform simultaneously,” Snowden said. “We would very much like to do both, but after a thorough review of the objective statistics, e.g., traffic volumes, crash statistics and vehicle delay, we realized that the Schaad Road project had higher metrics across all noted criteria.
“Therefore, we made the hard decision to defer the Canton Hollow project for a few years to secure the necessary funds,” he said. “In our review of the above-noted factors, we noticed that Canton Hollow has a trend of wet-weather crashes and a concentration of crashes at a specific intersection.
“To combat these issues, we will repave the road with skid-resistant asphalt and install a warning flasher at the intersection this fall.
“We believe these smaller operational improvements will provide the necessary short-term benefit to the critical locations while we secure the funds necessary to rebuild the entire roadway,” Snowden said.
“Again, thanks so much for your cooperation and understanding,” he added.
“I was disappointed to learn the Canton Hollow project was being postponed,” 5th District County Commissioner Angela Russell said. “Sadly, Director Snowden has been forced to make difficult decisions due to limited resources. “I appreciate his support of the skid-resistant repaving as an interim solution,” she said. “I plan to continue to advocate for better road funding. Knox County has a $1.2 billion dollar budget and I believe funding roads should be a priority."
In an email to resident Joe Carson, which was copied to farragutpress, Russell stated, “I am sorry to inform you that the Canton Hollow Road improvements were pushed back two years.
“I have attached the adopted budget showing the approved roadway capital plan,” she said. “I did not vote for the budget. I feel that the county should be more focused on roads and less involved in funding non-profits.
“However, I do have the utmost confidence that the Knox County Engineering and Public Works department under director Snowden’s leadership will utilize the funds allocated to them in the most efficient and effective manner considering state matching grants and the grant restrictions,” Russell stated. “I have no doubt they will do their best
to complete the Canton Hollow project once it is properly funded.
“Again, I am sorry. I know this is not the news you wanted,” she stated.
“I appreciate the info Mr. Snowden and Commissioner Russell provided in a timely way,” Carson said. “How many accidents have been reported on Canton Hollow Road over past few years? Rumble strips are now on both sides and the middle median."
“Difficult Budget decisions need to be made, particularly given the resistance to raising property taxes in Knox County,” he said. “So I have nothing negative to say.”
