News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville Public Works will look at straightening Buffalo Valley Road when the Cane Creek Bridge design process gets the go-ahead.
Public Works Director Greg Brown said he does not think a major relocation of the road is feasible but the department will try and shift the road as much as possible to improve safety. Brown said one of his concerns is how to straighten the road without creating another problem.
“If we shift the road to the south, that means there will be more of a curve to the east, which is going up a hill,” Brown said. “We really don’t want to add another curve when you’re going down that steep hill, so that’s something you want to avoid. There’s just not a lot of room left to straighten it without creating another problem.”
Brown said Public Works might be able to address the Ridgedale intersection. However, he said until a land survey can be done, it is hard to determine where the road will be moved.
“It’s kind of hard to say exactly where we’re going to move the road, if we can at all,” Brown said. “That is something we’re going to look at to try to make it better, as much as we possibly can.”
Brown said a small scale project to straighten Buffalo Valley Road could be done without much of an extra cost. However, Brown said the geography poses problems to a large scale project.
“If you have a major relocation, which I don’t think is feasible because you’re going up to the east,” Brown said. “There’s quite a bit of difference in elevation there, so I just don’t think that’s a feasible alternative, to do that.”
Brown said there is a flood plain in the area but flooding in the area is mostly prevented. Although he has concerns that damming the area could create a flood problem that was not already there.
