News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
New traffic lights for the Holly Street Intersection in Monterey are finally on the way.
A vehicle accident more than year ago knocked down the power pole. Mayor JJ Reels said the biggest hurdle was waiting for state input on what to do at the state highway.
“The state came back with the survey and said that it really didn’t need a red light there because of the amount of traffic,” Reels said. “But, it is a safety issue to us, so we’re going to go ahead and do it.”
Reels said the insurance estimate has arrived, so now, the town looks to contract with the city of Cookeville to install the light. Reels said the infrastructure for the intersection remains, so installation should not take very long.
“It’s just replacing the stuff that was there,” Reels said. “It knocked an arm down that holds one of the red lights, so we’ll replace that. I think the red light itself is still good. We have that at the city garage, so we’ll get the new pole put up.”
Reels said digging a new hole for the pole and reinforcing it with concrete will be the biggest part of the project. Monterey has been using stop signs for the intersection ever since the accident.
“It’ll get back up and get people back to normal to what they’re used to,” Reels said. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s a change people are not used to. I’ve not known of any accidents over there since it has been that way.”
Reels said if a road closure comes as a result of the work, it would only be temporary. Reels said motorists should drive with caution if crews are at the intersection working.
