News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
T-DOT in the design phase to upgrade the intersection of Monterey’s Poplar Street and West Commercial Avenue.
Regional Communications Officer Rae Anne Bradley said T-DOT will install signal mast arms to replace the current traffic signals hanging on wires. Bradley said the project will also improve the sidewalks and crosswalks of the intersection so locals can navigate the area more easily.
“It is just this one intersection, but we will implement all of the latest technologies in terms of traffic signal replacement,” Bradley said. “So like I said pedestrian facilities will all be upgraded, everything will be brought up to ADA standards so that everything is easily accessible.”
Bradley said the work is fully funded through the federal government’s Carbon Reduction Program so Monterey will not have to pay anything for the upgrades. Bradley said the construction phase is budgeted in T-DOT’s 2027 fiscal year, meaning the earliest construction can start is December, 2026.
“We’re currently in the design phase,” Bradley said. “Working through our survey plans, taking our inventory of everything that needs to be upgraded, improved, and/or replaced.”
Bradley said the project came about through T-DOT’s Preventative Maintenance Inspections and Inventory Program established in 2021. Bradley said the program inspected traffic signals across the state along state routes in towns with less than five thousand people.
“We identified three hundred and twenty-something odd traffic signals that were in need of repairs,” Bradley said. “And then we used some considerations and factors to determine which of those were in need of more immediate repairs and we identified about thirty or so signals that need more immediate attention that we’re doing to replace. And so this intersection in particular is one of those thirty.”
Bradley said the department plans to minimize impacts on utilities or rights-of-way as much as possible throughout the process. Bradley said safety is T-DOT’s top priority and it wants to make sure all state routes are safe to travel on regardless of where they are located.
“This is just another way we’re going about facilitating that, making sure folks have what they need to navigate these areas safely,” Bradley said.
