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BY ROBERT SORRELL
Star Correspondent
Due to a delay in the installation of traffic signals, construction at a busy Milligan Highway intersection is now expected to be completed in March 2024, a state transportation official said Thursday.
Summers-Taylor Inc. began work in the spring of 2023 at the intersection of Milligan Highway and Twin Oaks Drive in Johnson City, not far from the Carter County line, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
The project consisted of the addition of an outbound lane to Twin Oaks Drive and the installation of a traffic signal, TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi said. In addition, the project involved the adjustment of the entrance to the nearby Shell gas station and Dunkin, as well as milling and paving on Milligan Highway.
The grading, drainage, signals and paving project was let to construction on Oct. 7, 2022, to Summers-Taylor for $872,248.86. It was originally expected to be completed in September 2023, but now has an estimated completion date of March 2024.
“All work is complete with the exception of the signal equipment,” Nagi said.
Once signal components are received, Nagi said the contractor will be working to complete the project.
Nagi said TDOT has seen delays on other projects concerning signal installation recently, mainly due to the long lead times associated with receiving different components from the supplier.
Previously, Nagi said there had also been a slight delay due to signal footers due to different subsurface conditions than originally expected. Necessary adjustments were made, he said in July 2023.
The construction project comes after the city of Johnson City submitted an application to TDOT requesting funding from the State Industrial Access Program.
The intersection serves nearby LPI Inc., a local hot tub manufacturer, and is close to U.S. Highway 321.
More than 12,000 vehicles pass through the intersection every day, TDOT traffic count data shows. It connects U.S. Highway 321 and Interstate 26 with Milligan University and the Happy Valley area of Carter County.