Jefferson Sidewalks Replaced, Paving Next

Sidewalks getting an upgrade along North Jefferson Avenue between Boyd Street and East 1st Street.

Cookeville Public Works Director Mary Beth Elrod said the sidewalks were not ADA compliant. Trees growing from beneath created hazards by pushing sidewalks upward. Elrod said the old sidewalks were about four feet wide and the replacements will be six feet wide.

“The sidewalk work is actually not affecting traffic and the flow of traffic because it is taking place in those angled, off-street parking stalls,” Elrod said. “And we are just working with the businesses that it’s affecting their parking and working around their schedules to do the sidewalk project.”

Elrod said a company will come in two to three weeks after the sidewalks are completed to repave N Jefferson Avenue from Spring Street to E 1st Street. Elrod said they will be resurfacing the area, improving curb relief, and adding decorative lighting down to E 1st Street to match that of the city square.

“We hope to improve the safety of parking, traffic flow, and pedestrians,” Elrod said. “Just all around improvement in this whole stretch.”

Elrod said they will be adding two parking spaces to the road by removing a large tree stump from the corner of E 1st St and N Jefferson Ave.

“It’s been an eyesore with the tree stump in the middle of the roadway since that tree died and got removed,” Elrod said.

Elrod said the paving work will impact that road for up to four business days. Elrod said the department will notify the public before the work begins so they can prepare other routes.

Elrod said the road improvements have been on their paving list for a while while the sidewalk improvements have been a top priority on their ADA compliance list.

“This was one of the more worse case scenarios because the trees growing larger had pushed that sidewalk up substantially, making it impassable,” Elrod said.