News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Those driving to Sparta on Highway 111 will notice progress on new welcome signs while entering the city limits.
City Administrator Brad Hennessee said even though the lettering is up on the gateway monuments, a few parts of the project remain.
“The only thing that we are lacking now are the lights and the concrete pedestal mounts for the lights,” Hennessee said. “So, we expect that either before we leave for Christmas or the beginning of next week.”
Hennessee said city officials will likely plan some sort of ceremony to celebrate the new signs. Hennessee said completing the project has been a long process since T-DOT first approved in the summer of 2020.
“As for as we know, we’re the only ones that completed the gateway monument process as written,” Hennessee said. “In the past, cities and counties had welcome to signs, but they were typically a lot less elaborate. T-DOT doesn’t allow those on the right-of-way anymore. It has to be something constructed out of the safety clear zone.”
Hennessee said he anticipates the monuments to last for generations to come with high-end stone and powder coated paint. Hennessee said Sparta wants to grab the attention of drivers on 111.
‘We’re already getting a few calls from other places,” Hennessee said. ‘What we were looking to do with both the signs actually is when people pass those and see such an elaborate sign, it just looks like somebody took a special effort to build the signs.”
