Yager, TDOT, local officials meet about Hwy 63 turnoffs, more

TOP PHOTO: Davis Chapel turnoff of Hwy 63/General Stiner Hwy. (PHOTO COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)

Pictured left to right is Senator Ken Yager, TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley and Campbell County Mayor Jack Lynch.

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – State Senator Ken Yager held a meeting with Campbell County Mayor Jack Lynch along with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials on Friday regarding the “danger” of several turnoffs on Highway 63, as well an update on other paving projects in the county. State officials said they plan on “bringing their own forces in” to fix the turnoff problems on the recently paved highway once the contractor has finished and moved out.

“Every commission meeting we’re being questioned about ‘hey, they’re throwing gravel in the road every time they turn,” said Campbell Mayor Jack Lynch. (PHOTO COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)

The problem of these turnoffs has been discussed multiple times by county commissioners who have had multiple calls about the issues on the highway, especially the Davis Chapel (very top photo) turnoff and the one up by Big O’s and on up the valley by the old Frontier Store. In total, there are five turnoffs causing concern to citizens; the state said it will provide a solution by adding some additional paving to prevent rock from getting on the roads at these turnoffs and being a danger to drivers, especially to motorcyclists. State officials said they will do some paving to “build it up and smooth it out” to prevent the gravel and rock on the road.

The meeting was also to review the status of local roads and discuss ways the state can help repave and repair portions of roads across Campbell County.

Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner Butch Eley attended the meeting, as did TDOT’s Director of Project Operations Dexter Justis.

The discussion started with updates from TDOT Commissioner Eley, who said his main goal of the meeting was to visit with Campbell County community leaders like the mayor and answer any questions.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say a word about our senator; he and I have worked so closely together for the last few years, and there is nobody that is more dedicated to his constituents than this guy. He’s one of the reasons that Tennessee is such a great place to live; we’ve had such good leadership in our government and our process of how we fund is pay as you go and does not put more taxes on people and doesn’t raise taxes,” Eley said. He also said that all the upgrades and “good things happening in Tennessee bring the challenge of having more to do than what we have funds to do” and that the state was “going back and prioritizing the things that need to be done,” Eley said.

“I feel passionate about transportation, and I know the senator does. When we come in and pave a road or fix a bridge, it’s a lot more than about pavement, asphalt, and concrete. It represents one of those services we do in government that truly most everybody in the state is impacted by every day. It means connectivity to things that people need to get to, it means mobility for people that need to get to the doctor’s office or school, and just quality of life, whether it’s getting to your kid’s soccer game or church on Sunday. The governor certainly takes transportation seriously, and that’s the reason he recommended working with the legislature last year and got the moderation act passed which ended up providing an additional $3 billion dollars, and we were able to also put more of that directly down to the counties and cities to utilize,” Eley said.

TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley, left and TDOT Director of Project Operations Dexter Justis, right, said that TDOT would come in after the current contractor finishes up and fix some of the issues with multiple turnoffs on Highway 63.

“That money you’re talking about bringing down to the county level is one of the biggest boons we’ve had in a long time for the counties. Ron Dilbeck, our road superintendent, was telling me that is one of the great advantages that we have had as a small county is to have that paving money come down to the local level,” County Mayor Jack Lynch said.

According to Eley, the money the state put out was 15 times more than what is usually provided to counties for paving in any particular year. The hope, according to Eley was that the extra funding would allow the counties to plan for infrastructure projects and paving projects for several years out.

According to Eley, the state did not put a timeline on when the money had to be spent, but he did suggest that with the way inflation is, “the more you get on the ground, the better.”

“I would encourage you all to get as much paving done as possible,” Eley said.

He also said the biggest thing he was trying to focus on as TDOT commissioner with the legislature was the fact that over the years TDOT had a lot of projects they were able to start, but not finish. A 10-year plan has been established to help with this process.

“What we’re trying to do is have a more deliberate impact of finishing what we start. So, what we’re trying to do with this 10-year plan that Dexter and our regional offices have come up with is making sure that when we put a project in this long-term plan now, we not only have enough to get started, but enough to finish it,” Eley said.

The TDOT Commissioner also asked Mayor Lynch if he had any updates or questions regarding road projects in the county that he wanted to discuss.

“We have had several projects going on in Campbell County. We have the truck climbing lane coming on 63, and that will be a great thing. There’s one portion finished, but we’re still working on Highway 63 in the valley, east of LaFollette where they’re turning it into a four-lane. We’re certainly proud of that, those four lanes of traffic and the turning lane are sorely needed, but we have a few issues there. We’ve had people ask us about the radius of the turns, they seem to be too steep,” Lynch said.

TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley, left and TDOT Director of Project Operations Dexter Justis, right, said that TDOT would come in after the current contractor finishes up and fix some of the issues with multiple turnoffs on Highway 63.

The county mayor told Commissioner Eley that he and county commissioners received “numerous calls on that.”

“Every commission meeting we’re being questioned about ‘hey, they’re throwing gravel in the road every time they turn,’ so, it’s like we need more pavement on the edge and that’s every turn up through there; there’s probably five of them … that’s something the citizens have had a lot of concern about, the radius, the gravel and motorcycles trying to drive on those gravels is very dangerous,” Lynch said.

Senator Yager said last week he had the regional director of TDOT in Campbell County looking at the road concerns and issues in that area.

Eley and Yager both said a solution was in the works.

“We’ve heard you on that; we’ve already been working on it,” Eley said.

“We chatted about it on the way up,” confirmed Senator Yager.

“We have a plan and are looking to address those exact concerns,” Eley said.

County Mayor Lynch briefly discussed another problem on state Highway 25W.

“That road gets a lot of water across it that freezes in winter, and we have cars go off all over; that’s a danger, there’s a little room for improvement on 25 W,” Lynch said, adding that he did note that ditches were being dug out deeper to be able to handle the water and prevent some of those problems.

He also brought up the interstate portion in Campbell County and “potholes galore.”

Before the meetings close, Director of Project Operations Dexter Justis gave an update on the solution for fixing the issues on the turn-offs up the valley.

“We’re looking to do some paving. TDOT is going to come in with our own equipment and crews,” Justis said.

TDOT Commissioner Eley said the state would wait until the contractor was done so they “wouldn’t be in each other’s way.”

“We will come in with some of our own forces and build it up and smooth it out, so we won’t have the problem with the rocks on the road,” Eley said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 05/06/2024-6AM)