City Council - Regular Meeting

Hello Cookville, I'm Councilwoman C.G. England and I'm excited to join you for my first Cookville City Update. This week I want to tell you about a project that has been in the planning stages for several years that should help traffic flow at the intersection of South Jefferson Avenue and Neal Street. If you travel through this area regularly, you'll probably notice the large TVA transmission structure located near that intersection. Over time, the location of that structure became an issue for larger vehicles, particularly 18-wheelers, trying to make turns at that intersection. In some cases, trucks were getting stuck while making the turn, impeding traffic through the area. Once the city became aware of the issue, our Energy Department director began discussions with TVA about what could be done. Those conversations started several years before the formal relocation process began. The City has since been working with TVA on a plan to relocate the structure and that project is now moving forward. According to TVA, the existing structure was built in 1957. The official relocation process began in August 2023 when the City asked TVA to evaluate moving the structure to create additional space near the intersection. A month later, the City signed a $30,000 deposit agreement with TVA to begin that process. Over the following months, city staff provided utility locations, street measurements, and other information TVA needed to develop a proposed relocation plan. In January 2024, TVA presented the city with a proposed design, and that's where you can really begin to see why relocating that structure is important. Moving it further away from the intersection would create additional space that could be used for future street improvements at South Jefferson Avenue and Neal Street. The drawings you're seeing show the proposed location of the relocated structure and how the intersection could look with that additional space available. The City's proposed street improvements would use this additional space to expand the turning radius and potentially add travel lanes to help improve traffic movement through the intersection. Of course, relocating a major TVA transmission structure comes with a significant cost. TVA initially estimated the project at approximately $700,000, which would have been the City's responsibility. Rather than funding that entire amount with local funds, the City reached out to our federal and state representatives to seek financial assistance for the relocation of the TVA structure. Earlier this year, the City was informed that the State had allocated $750,000 toward the relocation. We want to express our appreciation to State Representative Ryan Williams and State Senator Paul Bailey. Because approximately two years had passed since TVA's original estimate, TVA also updated the project cost. The new estimate is $789,187. With the state's $750,000 allocation and the city's original $30,000 deposit, the remaining amount based on the current estimate is $9,187. Now that the funding is largely in place, the next step is the engineering and environmental review process. TVA estimates that work will take approximately one year, so this isn't a change you'll see at the intersection immediately. Based on TVA's current schedule, construction on the relocation is expected to begin in fall 2027. Once relocated, the structure would provide the city with the space needed to pursue the proposed street improvements shown in these plans. There is still work ahead, but relocating this structure is an important first step toward what we hope to accomplish at this intersection. We'll continue working with TVA and the state as the project moves through engineering and environmental review, and we'll keep you updated as we get closer to construction. Thanks for joining me for my first Coople City update. I look forward to sharing more with you soon.