The Highway 444 Safety Project was initially charted by the Board of Directors of the Tellico Village Homeowners Association (HOA) in February 2015 but the concept for the project had been developing for several years as we watched the usage of Highway 444 increase and the condition of the road deteriorate.
The TDOT Liaison Committee, in coordination with the Tellico Village Property Owners Association (POA), developed a tactical plan for making improvements to the highway. This plan was presented to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Region 1 Operations Director and key staff on September 8, 2015. The plan was well received and led to a second meeting with TDOT on November 19, 2015 in which they responded to a number of proposals made by the Committee and offered other improvements based on their assessment of road conditions.
In preparation for the second meeting, TDOT conducted traffic counts and road field condition surveys, performed a traffic crash analysis and identified intersections within the Village where safety improvements will be considered. TDOT has budgeted and scheduled several highway improvements for the summer of 2016 (some repairs may be made sooner) including:
- Shoulder repairs
- Bridge transition repairs
- Repainting the road markings over the entire length of Hwy 444
- Signage improvements for intersections, segments of limited sight lines and deer crossing areas
We are very happy that these improvements will be made next summer but the Committee and TDOT agree that this is just the beginning of a project that will take 3 to 4 years to complete. In future articles we will discuss in detail the TDOT crash analysis report, long range plans for improvements to Highway 444 and for perspective, a discussion of TDOT budget and project prioritization process. It is important to understand this process because TDOT has a limited budget and many competing priorities. This understanding will help all of us focus on realistic expectations for the project.
12/09/2015