A quiet neighborhood street has become a frequent spot for backups due to construction in Franklin, and the city wants to try to relieve some of the congestion.
Residents who live along Jefferson Street, between Forsythe Street and Milford Drive, are struggling to get in and out of their driveways, and concerned about safety along what had been a quiet neighborhood street. Their street is being used as a detour for traffic during construction that started in March.
For Jan Reese, who has lived along Jefferson Street for more than two decades, this past week has been the most traffic she has ever seen on the road in front of her home, she said.
“I’m anxious for it to be over,” Reese said.
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King Street is closed between Middleton Drive and Eastview Drive for reconstruction. Last week, Eastview Drive closed for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Upper Shelbyville Road. Both projects are expected to be complete by the end of July. The closure of Eastview Drive this week led even more drivers to use the detour, and now residents are struggling to pull in or out of their own driveways and worry about the potential for crashes.
Those concerns are prompting the city to suggest a second detour around the construction for drivers heading in and out of the city from Interstate 65.
To help alleviate traffic on Jefferson Street, an alternative detour is being added, which will direct drivers to use Greensburg Road and Umbarger Lane to get from downtown Franklin to I-65, Franklin city engineer Mark Richards said.
Drivers can take King Street to Umbarger Lane, just west of the I-65 interchange, and then take Greensburg Road, which turns into Park Avenue, to Grizzly Drive and State Street, connecting to Jefferson Street.
The city has been monitoring traffic throughout the construction process. Traffic shifted to Jefferson Street after Eastview Drive closed, and officials knew they would need to provide drivers with more options, he said.
“We are monitoring the situation and making changes that we feel are necessary,” Richards said.
The next two weeks will also include a change at the intersection of King Street and Milford Street, where the city will add stop signs as sections of King Street will need to close for drainage pipes to be replaced, he said.
If the stop signs make it easier for drivers headed south to the Jefferson Street detour, the city may leave the stops signs at the intersection through the end of July, Richards said.
The extra traffic was both a help and a hindrance for Diann Parsley .
Parsley spent the past week helping her mother, Margaret Parsley, move out of her home along Jefferson Street. Getting her truck in and out of her mother’s driveway to load up items was difficult. Drivers often don’t stop to let residents out of their driveways, and she often would sit for long periods with no breaks in the stream of vehicles, Parsley said.
“Some are courteous, but some are just flying through,” she said.
But Parsley also wanted to host a garage sale to clear out items that her mother wasn’t going to be taking with her to Florida. And the added traffic meant that she didn’t have to post many signs, she said.
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Another detour is being added to help drivers get between downtown Franklin and Interstate 65 while King Street is under construction between Middleton Road, and stop signs are being added at one intersection:
DETOUR
Current detour: Jefferson Street and Milford Lane
Alternative detour: Drivers can take King Street to Umbarger Lane and then take Greensburg Road, which turns into Park Avenue, to Grizzly Drive and State Street, connecting to Jefferson Street.
When: Now through July 31
STOP SIGNS
Where: intersection of King Street and Milford Stree
What: City will add stop signs as sections of King Street will need to close for pipes to be replaced.
When: Starting next week. If the stop signs make it easier for drivers, they could stay through the end of July.
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