Hopewell Elementary School in Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The Bradley County Board of Education is considering recommendations for relieving traffic congestion around the Hopewell and Michigan Avenue elementary schools.
In a recent meeting, engineering consultant Gary McGill discussed a limited number of solutions for remedying the hour-long car jam along Freewill Road that also affects nearby Georgetown Road during student pickup in the afternoons.
"We don't believe there is a solution without changes to the site," McGill said.
The longer morning student drop-off time provides some relief, but the shorter afternoon departure time stacks up the traffic on Freewill Road while drivers struggle to exit the campus, he said.
The key, McGill said, is to provide another way in and out of the campus, and that means connecting the school directly to Georgetown Road, which is part of the State Route 60 corridor.
The school property faces limitations to simply creating another egress to Freewill Road, he said. The campus layout is better suited to connect to State Route 60, which would require the purchase of adjacent property owned by Volunteer Energy Cooperative.
"There's really not another opportunity to resolve the issue without access to State Route 60," McGill said.
In light of a current Tennessee Department of Transportation plan to widen Georgetown Road as part of a program to improve the State Route 60 corridor, McGill urged the school officials to engage the agency as soon as possible.
A connection to the state route also could make the project eligible for a number of transportation grants, he said.
A preliminary estimate for the project ranged between $8,000 and $13,000, but the cost of purchasing the property was not included in that figure.
Although the value of the property is uncertain, it might have been appraised at $20,000 some years ago, Bradley County Commissioner Terry Caywood said in a discussion on the matter a year ago.
A possible solution to Michigan Avenue Elementary traffic snarls also calls for the use of adjacent property.
School board member Dianna Calfee recommended the board approve a proposal that calls for the use of a vacant lot next to Michigan Avenue Elementary to relieve the school's traffic problems.
The traffic congestion causes "a safety issue for Bradley County students, parents, buses and others," she said.
Since the school system owns the former residential property leveled after the April 2011 storms, it could provide "a quick fix" to the problem, Calfee said.
Material costs for the project amount to $3,600, according to estimates provided to Calfee by the Bradley County Road Department.
The school board agreed to review both school traffic issues again in November.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.