Road work related to Carousel Project and Clinchfield Street reconfiguration slated to begin Monday
KINGSPORT ‚¬ Road work related to the Carousel Project at the Farmers Market as well as a Clinchfield Street reconfiguration project to improve turning movements on Clinchfield and increase safety for those choosing mobility alternatives such as bicycles began on Monday, April 7, 2014.
The two-part project involves the installation of a new signal and redesign of the entrance to Food City at the intersection of Press Street and Clinchfield. During construction of the intersection tie in, one lane of Clinchfield entering the downtown area will be closed approaching Press Street.
The second part of the project will restripe Clinchfield from Center Street to Stone Drive, removing one travel lane while adding a continuous center turn lane and bicycle lanes on each side of the street.
As part of the Clinchfield reconfiguration, a landscaped island will be installed between the Clinchfield entrance to Holston Medical Group and Lovedale Drive. This will necessitate the closure of one lane of Clinchfield in that area during the construction.
Overall, the entire project is estimated to take 60 days for the intersection work and 90 days to complete the entire project.
To provide our citizens with the opportunity for a healthier lifestyle and alternative forms of transportation beyond the car, we know this requires providing safer travel corridors, Campbell said. We have developed a long-range bikeway and pedestrian plan to guide that process, and the Clinchfield corridor provides the best possible downtown connection from Stone Drive, which already has bike lanes.
In addition, the intersection project includes a new traffic signal to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety as the other side of Clinchfield Street develops, while the need for a protected turn lane has been identified since redevelopment began to occur in this area.
In 2010, AARP supported a Livable Community Survey of Kingsport measuring sustainability of the community as defined by a number of factors. One key finding found limited access to neighborhood grocery stores, particularly without the use of a car.
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