Kingsport plans summer street resurfacing program
The City of Kingsport will soon initiate its annual summer paving program, where a significant amount of work will take place in Fairacres, Tellico Hills and Eastern Highlands neighborhoods (Area 17). This area is generally bound by the neighborhoods north of Watauga Street, Center Street, west of Eastman Road, and east of and including Linville Street as it intersects with Watauga Street.
As an initial effort, W&L Construction will be paving approximately 1.7 miles of streets in Tellico Hills this spring. The cost of this project is approximately $698,000. The remainder of the roads of Area 17 will either be repaved, or their concrete surface will be repaired throughout the 2024 paving season.
Kingsport allocated $3.4 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget for contractors and city crews to pave. Since 2017, Kingsport has allocated and/or spent $16.9 million on street resurfacing work, repaving just over 101 miles of roads.
General areas paved in these years include Colonial Heights, Lynn Garden, Upper Sevier Terrace, areas near the Tri-Cities airport, Eastern Star and the Tri-Cities Crossing and Fort Henry Drive between the John B. Dennis Highway and Fort Patrick Henry Dam.
During those same years, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has spent $12.6 million on street resurfacing work in Kingsport, repaving 22 miles of roads, including ones on Industry Drive and the John B. Dennis Highway.
For the past eight years, Kingsport has used a data-driven approach to street resurfacing. First, by ranking all city streets from 0 to 100 based on condition and then creating an annual paving plan where the lowest ranked streets are given priority.
By following this program, Kingsport has repaved on average 17 miles of streets every year since 2017.
The City of Kingsport is responsible for maintaining approximately 500 miles of streets within the city limits. The Tennessee Department of Transportation oversees the repair and paving of state highways and federal interstates within Kingsport’s borders, including Stone Drive, Fort Henry Drive, Center Street, Lynn Garden Drive and the John B. Dennis Highway.
For more information on Kingsport’s paving schedule, updated road condition maps, or to view the latest presentations, visit www.pavekingsport.com.
