TDOT has initiated a repaving/ striping project on Dayton Boulevard and Cherokee Boulevard through the Stringers Ridge Tunnel that should begin this coming spring. For three years, the city has applied for multi-modal grants from TDOT but the applications were denied each time. Now TDOT has agreed to incorporate requests from Red Bank that will contribute some of the multi-modal elements that the city wants to make on Dayton Boulevard.
The changes that will be made around the entrance and exit of the tunnel will be done with striping only.
Currently the number of lanes on Dayton Boulevard leading into the tunnel varies and ends with four lanes through the underpass. With the changes, Dayton Boulevard will be marked to consistently have three lanes leading to the tunnel's north end in Red Bank. And the new striping from the north end of the tunnel at the Red Bank City Limits to Signal Mountain Road will provide enough space for a shoulder that is wide enough for bikers and pedestrians to safely walk along it until they get to the Chattanooga city limits prior to entering the tunnel. TDOT currently has these plans in the approval phase.
On Dayton Boulevard, north of the Signal Mountain Road intersection, other changes will be made which will be the financial responsibility of Red Bank. Volkert Engineering has been hired to do the engineering of the project and to determine the price for the striping improvements. This set of plans does not require TDOT approval since Dayton Boulevard north of Signal Mountain Road is no longer their jurisdiction. Once Red Bank receives and approves these final plans the work will be coordinated with contractors performing the work for TDOT to continue the work needed in Red Bank. The work that is being done now by TDOT may stretch any grant money the city may get in the future, said Vice Mayor Hollie Berry.