CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System received a proposal on Tuesday night from the county to improve and alleviate traffic congestion and enhance safety along three miles of Rossview Road in Clarksville.
During their meeting on Tuesday, July 2, the CMCSS school board heard the first reading of a proposal from the Montgomery County government to improve State Route 237, Rossview Road.
The current proposal offers to improve approximately 3.12 miles of road near the Kirkwood School Campus by widening the current roadway to five lanes and implementing sidewalks. They would also add curb and gutter drainage as part of their improvement project.
Issues on Rossview Road
With Kirkwood Elementary School preparing to open its doors for the first time in August, the newly built complex will finally be complete.
For the last three years, the Kirkwood Campus has been gradually opening up their schools one by one, starting with Kirkwood Middle in 2022, and Kirkwood High just last year in August of 2023.
Morning commutes to the Kirkwood School Campus are typically met with heavily congested traffic. According to Chief County Engineer, Nick Powell, the widening of the road was planned prior to the Kirkwood School Campus construction. The administration at the time said that the location was a viable piece of land for the school to be built on, but the road needed to be improved.
Meanwhile, Montgomery County spokesperson Michelle Newell told Clarksville Now that the county is still on track for what they originally set out to accomplish through the design and right-of-way acquisition phases.
Newell added to her comments by saying like with any other road construction project, there will be growing pains that includes delays, and she encourages drivers to prepare by allowing extra time to get to their destination during the construction phases.
Proposal to improve Rossview Road
On Tuesday, June 2, the school board convened for their monthly study session and were given the first reading of the proposal from Bryan Lopp, a member of the CMCSS Operations team.
According to Lopp, talks about improving the roadway had been in the works since 2018.
In November of 2020, the County Commission originally approved up to $3 million for the project, that was said to affect a 3.6-mile section of Rossview Road from Hayes Lane to International Boulevard. The current proposal notes that 3.12 miles of Rossview Road will now be affected.
According to Powell, the initial idea was to start construction just beyond Hayes Lane, but because it seemed like a realistic termination point. However, even though Montgomery County is overseeing, facilitating and paying for a big portion of the project, Rossview Road is still a state route, so the county has to abide by Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and federal guidelines.
“I think when the federal government started looking at the project, since Hayes Lane is a dead-end street, it’s not a proper project terminus,” Powell said. “The school system project is a proper terminus, even though it wasn’t built at the time, it was to be built. So, we had to pull that back to the west a little bit just past the (Kirkwood) school entrance.”
During the CMCSS study session, the board was shown several renderings of the area around the Kirkwood School Campus that would be impacted by this road expansion. The improvements made to the area would include a right of way lane, sidewalks and curb and gutter drainage.
To make these improvements, CMCSS would need to accommodate requests for right of way and easements. Montgomery County approved an offer to CMCSS for the right of way and easements, which is made up of 0.241 acres, for $40,200.
CMCSS recommendation to school board
Lopp explained that after much research, the CMCSS operations team determined that the right-of-way acquisition would be a positive benefit to the district and to the community.
“The setbacks included in the original site plan design for the roadway expansion are now needed to support the five thousand customers that will visit the soon-to-be completed Kirkwood School Campus,” Lopp said. “These improvements will enhance traffic flow and improve safety to the Kirkwood School Campus and the surrounding community.”
Instead of accepting the $40,200 offer, the CMCSS Operations Team recommended a donation of the 0.241 acres to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
“Foregoing the compensation amount of $40,200 would lessen the burden on the taxpayers of Montgomery County, who are funding this portion of the roadway expansion,” Lopp said.
According to Newell, at this time, it is uncertain as to when construction would begin, because TDOT has not included the funding in their budgeting process.
The project will take approximately two years to complete once construction funds are approved and the construction phase begins.