Two Phases of Proposed Highway 56 Improvement Project Scheduled for December Bid Letting

October 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Two phases of the proposed Highway 56 improvement project are still scheduled for a December 7  bid letting.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation proposes to let bids for two of the phases from south of the Warren County line to near Magness Road and from south of State Route 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville. Construction is expected to begin by next spring. The third segment from near State Route 287 in Warren County to near the DeKalb County Line is not yet ready for bid letting.

The state plans to build largely two lanes of a proposed four lane project and maintain traffic on the existing Highway 56 (alignment) while construction is being done on the new portion.

“The project is tentatively scheduled for the December 7, 2018 letting.  We will know if it remains in the December letting on November 6 when our project development team has their final letting meeting.  Our Director of Project Development says that he expects it to stay in the December letting,” said Jennifer  Flynn, Community Relations Officer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation in an email message to WJLE today (Monday).

“The current bid schedule is the winter of 2018. Currently it is in the December letting which means construction should start in earnest when spring begins in 2019. The second and the third phases currently are scheduled to be let together. Which end is started on, that will be for discussions between our construction office and the contractor. He may decide to start on the north end or the south end of the project,” said Robert Rodgers of the TDOT Region 2 Project Development Office during a Design Public meeting held in May.

Following the meeting, Rodgers gave a general description of the project for WJLE.

“On the southern part from the DeKalb County line up to Vaughn Lane, its going to be a two lane roadway. There will be left turn lanes at the side roads. As we get closer to Smithville where some of the intersecting roads are offset there will be some extended sections of three lanes. Once we get to Vaughn Lane we will be expanding to the three lane typical all the way up to just past Morgan Branch. When we get past Morgan Branch we will be building a five lane section with curb and gutters and sidewalks,” said Rodgers.

According to Rodgers, the state will deviate from the existing road in the Shiney Rock area in order to bypass the cemeteries.The highway will then tie back in to the existing alignment in Smithville.

“Where the church and the cemetery are now, we are going off alignment because there was not room to fit the proposed finished road in between the two. Traffic on that section will stay on the existing road until the new road is complete,” said Rodgers.

The proposed cross sections for the project are as follows:

*From south of State Route 287 to north of Bessie Gribble Road-two 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, four-foot shoulders and ditches.

* From north of Bessie Gribble Road to Vaughn Lane-two 12-foot travel lanes with 12-foot shoulders and ditches. There will be left turn lanes at intersecting roadways.

*From Vaughn Lane to north of Morgan Branch-two 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, 12-foot shoulders and ditches.

*From north of Morgan Branch to East Bryant Street- four 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, four foot shoulders, two-foot curb and gutter, a sidewalk within a 10 foot utility strip on either side.

October 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Students and teachers at Smithville Elementary School will pay tribute to hometown heroes during the school’s annual Veterans Appreciation assembly program on Thursday morning, November 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11

All veterans are invited. Guests will need to be at the school by 9:15 a.m.

Last year Kelly Birmingham led students from pre-K to the second grade in singing “God Bless the USA” and other patriotic songs in honor of veterans who have served in each branch of the military.

(VIEW PREVIOUS YEAR PROGRAM BELOW)

Adrienne McCormick read the following “Veterans Day” poem by Cheryl Dyson:

“On Veterans Day we honor all,
Who answered to a service call,
Soldiers young, and soldiers old,
Fought for freedom, brave and bold
Some have lived, while others died,
And all of them deserve our pride,
We’re proud of all the soldiers who,
Kept thinking of red, white, and blue,
They fought for us and all our rights,
They fought through many days and nights,
And though we may not know each name,
We thank ALL veterans just the same.”

For more information, call 615-597-4415

October 21, 2018
By: Bill Conger

The DeKalb West School Junior Beta Club lent a helping hand Saturday (October 20) to the Smithville First Baptist Church Clothing Closet. Marshall Farler, Aniston Farler, Aly Griffith, Madison Martin, Chloe Dies, Kolton Slager, Evan Prichard, Alex Antoniak, and his brother, Brayden Antoniak from D.C.H.S. sorted and hung up clothes and books that the community had donated.

Sponsored by Smithville F-B-C, the Clothing Closet assists people who are referred from Department of Children’s Services, Haven of Hope, Recovery Court, and Head Start. Since 2011, the Clothes Closet has strived to help needy families in DeKalb County, but the organization reaches out to a variety of other organizations in the state and around the world.

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