TDOT Announces Safety Improvements to SR 126 in Kingsport
Project Will Increase Safety at Busy Intersection

Nashville, Tenn. – At a meeting hosted by Representative Nathan Vaughn in Kingsport this evening, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced a project designed to improve safety at the SR 126 intersection with Carolina Pottery Drive in Sullivan County.

The project will include the addition of new left turn lanes, new road striping, new signage, and the trimming of vegetation in the area to improve sight distance. The speed limit in the area will also be lowered from 50 mph to 45 mph. TDOT anticipates the work to begin on this project early this summer.

“Over the past few years, we have identified and implemented several safety improvements to SR 126 in Sullivan County,” said TDOT Chief of Environment and Planning Ed Cole. “We believe this project will greatly reduce the number of crashes at this very busy intersection.”

“The safety and efficiency of the SR 126 corridor has long been a top priority of mine,” said Representative Nathan Vaughn. “I have worked very closely with TDOT for a number of years to improve conditions on this road and I’m pleased to see these enhancements being made.”

A Citizens Resource Team worked with TDOT to prepare recommendations for improvements to the SR 126 (Memorial Blvd) corridor.  A number of safety improvements including the installation of guardrails, rumble strips and centerline markers have already been made.  TDOT has funded a major environmental study of other corridor alternatives and technical work is already underway.

For more information on this or any other TDOT road construction project or for weather-related road closure information, visit the TDOT Web site's dynamic TDOT SmartWay Information System at http://www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway/.