Semi-truck drivers passing through Greenwood will soon have specific routes they will be required to follow.
The proposal evolved out of an initial plan to ban trucks from driving on Main Street, between U.S. 31 and Emerson Avenue, into setting up specific routes semis will need to use if they are passing through Greenwood without making any deliveries.
The goal is to get semis off of Main Street in downtown Greenwood, and keep them on roads better suited to their size and weight, city council member Linda Gibson said. Keeping the semi-trucks off of that portion of Main Street will make it safer for other drivers and allow for easier access for emergency vehicles, such as ones going to and from Fire Station 92 at 155 E. Main St., she said.
In order to have a truck ban downtown, the city needed to provide a list of alternative routes that they want the drivers to be using instead, she said.
“We aren’t trying to make it more difficult for truck drivers,” Gibson said.
The ban would apply to semis with and without trailers. Trucks making in-town deliveries would be exempt from being required to use the routes. Drivers violating the ban could be fined up to $2,500. Signs will be set up to designate the truck routes.
The streets selected as truck routes are ones that are already heavily traveled and designed to withstand semi traffic, city engineer Mark Richards said.
East-west routes include Smith Valley Road, Worthsville Road, Fry Road and Allen Road. And north-south, the routes include Madison Avenue, Emerson Avenue, Collins Road and Graham Road. As construction to improve Worthsville Road continues in the future, including widening the road from U.S. 31 to Averitt Road in 2019, more sections will be added to the truck route, Richards said.
State roads, such as U.S. 31, Interstate 65 and State Road 135, along with County Line Road, weren’t included in the truck route. Doing so would have required additional agreements, and trucks already are allowed on those roads so that wasn’t necessary, Richards said.
The council approved the proposed truck routes 7-0. Council members David Lekse and Bruce Armstrong were absent. The council will need to vote again at their next meeting to give final approval.
At the request of Johnson County, a portion of Smith Valley Road and Emerson Avenue, from Madison Avenue to Main Street, was removed from the proposed truck route due to repairs needed to a bridge, Richards said. While trucks won’t be banned from using that portion of Smith Valley Road, the county asked that the city not encourage drivers to use that route, he said.
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Here is a look at the proposed truck routes in Greenwood:
East-west
- Smith Valley Road, from the western city limits to Madison Avenue
- Worthsville Road, from U.S. 31 to Collins Road
- Main Street, from State Road 135 to U.S. 31, and from Emerson Avenue to County Road 300E
- Fry Road, from State Road 135 to U.S. 31
- Allen Road, from Graham Road to Collins Road
North-south
- Madison Avenue, from County Line Road to U.S. 31
- Emerson Avenue, from County Line Road to Main Street
- Graham Road, from County Line Road to Collins Road
- Collins Road, from Allen Road to Worthsville Road
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