The County Commission on Wednesday approved a resolution for the acceptance of a proposal by TDOT for road improvements from east of Bel-Air Road to near Ooltewah-Ringgold Road - the last stretch in the lengthy project to widen East Brainerd Road from I-75.
However, there is still a long process before the long-sought project is completed.
Jennifer Flynn, of TDOT, said TDOT has the project to widen a 1.5-mile section of East Brainerd Road still has a number of hurdles to clear.
She said, "The project is in development and the right-of-way phase is not currently funded.
According to the project schedule, the right-of-way phase should begin in the fall of 2021, pending funding. The right-of-way phase is the one in which the department purchases the property necessary to construct the project, including acquiring easements.
"After the design is finalized, the final right-of-way plans are generated. There is a meeting held for the affected property owners to tell them how the project will impact their property. Depending on the number of properties affected, this phase can also take a long time, sometimes up to two years."
Ms. Flynn said there are over 125 tracts of property to acquire for this project, so that will take some time to complete.
After the right-of-way phase is completed, the next and final phase is construction, which is also funded separately after the right-of-way phase is complete.
The project will widen the roadway from two lanes to five lanes (two lanes in each direction with a continuous center turn lane). It will also include bicycle lanes and sidewalks along East Brainerd Road and improve the major intersection at East Brainerd Road and Ooltewah-Ringgold Road.
Ms. Flynn said the last project that widened a two-mile section of East Brainerd Road cost approximately $23 million. She said the future project will probably be more.