farragutpress

Union Road improvements draw concerns

October 28, 2026 by Tammy Cheek

While the town awaits state approval of its plan to improve Union Road, Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen members and residents have differing opinions on how the project should proceed.

During an update at the board’s meeting Thursday, Oct. 22, Vice Mayor Greg Wiberley said he has heard concerns from residents about the project.

“Some people have expressed this project is ready to go; but in the interim, since January, I’ve had some calls about issues on Union Road,” Wiberley said.

“I’m in the process of resolving those, understanding those, trying to get some resolution to those,” he said.

“One of the concerns from one of the residents was how water runoff would affect their property, and this is the drainage plan that was presented in the engineering package,” Wiberley said.

“I’m not so sure, just looking at it, that it satisfies their inquiry,” he said. “Usually, when you would do a drainage map, you would have a topographical map that shows actual elevations and you could track runoff.

“This one just seems to be random arrows,” he added. “I’m sure they’re not random, but they would appear to the first-time observer that that’s what it is.”

Wiberley also showed a culvert running under the road where there appeared to be flooding and other drainage problems affecting at least four homeowners.

“I wanted to make sure this issue was addressed in any road design,” he said. “When I looked at the plans, I could not see where that culvert tied into the planned culverts that went parallel to [Union Road].”

Wiberley also pointed to a driveway with a 7% slope, saying the proposed road improvements would increase that slope to 15%.

“It affects low-set cars,” he said.

Another resident hired an engineer to evaluate how the project would affect the property and submitted the engineer’s report to the town, Wiberley said. The resident is still awaiting a response.

Despite those concerns, Wiberley said none of the residents he spoke with opposed improving Union Road.

“Everyone knows how dangerous and awful it is,” he said. “That’s not the controversy here. We’re just trying to polish it so that we don’t have an unintended consequence during and after construction.”

Jim Bolon, president of the Fox Run subdivision homeowners association, urged the board not to delay the project.

“The Union Road improvement project has been 13 years in the making,” Bolon said. “Farragut is now on the cusp of moving this vitally important project forward pending a notice to proceed from [Tennessee Department of Transportation].”

Bolon said the improvements would benefit thousands of residents.

“This project will increase safety and quality of life for the several thousand residents living in approximately 900 homes in Fox Run, Saddle Ridge, Ivy Farms and Coal Springs, Sedgefield and other homes along Union Road,” he said.

“Going back to the drawing board with the design is not a great idea. I urge BOMA to not take that step. Redesigning the project could set it back for years, further delaying a critically needed safety improvement.”

Mayor Alex Cain indicated the project would move forward while officials worked to address residents’ concerns.

“It has been something that has been in the works for a long time,” Cain said. “We’re going to move forward with it. I’m glad we’re able to work through these issues. Hopefully, these will be very minor changes.”