How would you feel about a third east-west state highway crossing Putnam County end to end? (Murfreesboro: chapel, tax)

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Route I have the idea of it following (west to east):
--Hopewell Road from S.R. 96 to Indian Creek Road.
--Indian Creek Road from Hopewell Road to Stanton Road.
--Stanton Road end to end.
--U.S. 70N from Stanton Road to 1st Avenue North.
--1st Avenue North end to end.
--1st Avenue South from Main Street to Buffalo Valley Road.
--Buffalo Valley Road end to end.
--West Jackson Street from Buffalo Valley Road to South Walnut Avenue.
--East Jackson Street from South Walnut Avenue to S.R. 136.
--S.R. 136 from East Jackson Street to East Broad Street.
--East Broad Street from S.R. 136 to Buck Mountain Road.
--Buck Mountain Road end to end.
--Brotherton Mountain Road from Buck Mountain Road to Woodcliff Road.
--Woodcliff Road end to end.

Purpose(s) of each portion...

More direct highway than S.R. 96:
--Hopewell Road from S.R. 96 to Indian Creek Road.
--Indian Creek Road from Hopewell Road to Stanton Road.
--Stanton Road end to end.

--Concurrency with U.S. 70N--

Business route through Baxter, equally-fast alternate route between Baxter and Cookeville and arterial street in Cookeville:
--1st Avenue North end to end.
--1st Avenue South from Main Street to Buffalo Valley Road.
--Buffalo Valley Road end to end.
--West Jackson Street from Buffalo Valley Road to South Walnut Avenue.
--East Jackson Street from South Walnut Avenue to S.R. 136.

--Concurrency with S.R. 136--

Alternate, more direct route between Cookeville and Monterey:
--East Broad Street from S.R. 136 to Buck Mountain Road.
--Buck Mountain Road end to end.
--Brotherton Mountain Road from Buck Mountain Road to Woodcliff Road.
--Woodcliff Road end to end.

How would you feel about a third east-west highway crossing the county? If you'd support it, what route would you have in mind?

[Jumeby]

Not needed at this time. Why waste tax payer dollars on a project that is much less important than other higher priorities.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

Not needed at this time. Why waste tax payer dollars on a project that is much less important than other higher priorities.

I don't necessarily mean to make a highway with paved shoulders like 56 or even 70N. And especially not a "four-lane highway to nowhere" (which TDOT wastes more money on than anything). That would be overkill. I meant a smaller state highway, probably more like 135, 164 and most of 141.

But a state road would at least seal the last of the route with asphalt (as opposed to chipseal), maintain lines well on the whole route, add reflectors and probably rumble strips, and the speed would probably be adjusted differently for a state road vs. county (even if the county's still doing that part).

People would also be more likely to use the route if it were signed as a state one. Taking more direct routes, even if they're slightly slower, is favorable for me when it's an option (unless it's a gravel road or something) due to saving fuel; I literally usually take 96 all the way from Buffalo Valley to Murfreesboro (it saves over 10 miles and adds less than 15 minutes).

Sure, it would need a few spot improvements and maybe a bridge repair or two, but those are most likely needed anyways. They wouldn't even need to add a truck lane on Buck Mountain Road; it's already there.

[justindb29]

There are a whole lot of roads that need to be repaired/resurfaced long before they add any new routes, if that is ever needed.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Originally Posted by justindb29

There are a whole lot of roads that need to be repaired/resurfaced long before they add any new routes, if that is ever needed.

This wouldn't be constructing a new road but rather adopting existing county roads into the state system and upgrading to state standards. Similar to what happened with 477 several years back and 290 years before that. Sorry that I wasn't clear.

[justindb29]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.

This wouldn't be constructing a new road but rather adopting existing county roads into the state system and upgrading to state standards. Similar to what happened with 477 several years back and 290 years before that. Sorry that I wasn't clear.

OK. But I still think I would rather keep the state off of any other road in the county. I just don't see any other routes that would benefit from getting thrown into a bigger pot of potential future projects.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Originally Posted by justindb29

OK. But I still think I would rather keep the state off of any other road in the county. I just don't see any other routes that would benefit from getting thrown into a bigger pot of potential future projects.

Routes other than what? Also, I can think of two others than what I mentioned: Ditty/Cowan (which is already planned) and Cookeville Boatdock (which is extremely busy for a county road).

[JMT]

I do think that an additional E-W road is needed in Putnam County, but south of I-40. Right now there's no way to go from South Cookeville to western Putnam County without taking I-40. For example, as the crow flies it's only 6 miles from Burgess Falls to Silver Point but it's 21 miles by car. Such a road would require building a bridge over Center Hill Lake, so it would probably cost way too much.

[Jumeby]

I travel from south Cookeville to south/west Putnam all the time and it's a easy quick drive. Highway 135 is not congested nor the fork west on Cookeville boat dock road towards the landfill.



The only traffic congestion I see is within the Cookeville city limits.

[Sun Belt-lover L.A.M.]

Originally Posted by JMT

I do think that an additional E-W road is needed in Putnam County, but south of I-40. Right now there's no way to go from South Cookeville to western Putnam County without taking I-40. For example, as the crow flies it's only 6 miles from Burgess Falls to Silver Point but it's 21 miles by car. Such a road would require building a bridge over Center Hill Lake, so it would probably cost way too much.

Now you do have a good idea there too. But yes, it'd probably be way too expensive.

It might actually be easier to drop down into the valley of Mine Lick Creek, curve around the lake and just miss it then come back up. Perhaps even extend Carrs Chapel to Water Plant Road or Southfork Road, as well as improve the existing part. But even that wouldn't be easy.

Mine Lick has had the time Cane Creek and Falling Water River haven't to erode back its waterfalls, but it's still not the time Indian Creek and Smith Fork have had to carve out a wide valley/floodplain. Dealing with gorges is extremely challenging, not to mention one over 400 feet deep and as steep as a canyon. It's no wonder why they didn't have I-40 go more directly from Silver Point to Crossville when they built it!