The county's proposal proposes to widen Rossview Road to five lanes, improving traffic flow near the Kirkwood School campus

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System received a proposal from the county Tuesday night to improve and reduce traffic congestion and increase safety along three miles of Rossview Road in Clarksville.

At their meeting on Tuesday, July 2, the CMCSS school board heard the first reading of a proposal from Montgomery County government to improve State Route 237, Rossview Road.

The current project calls for improving approximately 3.12 miles of road near the Kirkwood School campus by widening the current roadway to five lanes and installing sidewalks. They would also add curb and gutter drainage as part of their improvement project.

Problems on Rossview Road

As Kirkwood Elementary School prepares to open its doors for the first time in August, the newly constructed complex will finally be complete.

Over the past three years, the Kirkwood campus has gradually opened its schools one by one, starting with Kirkwood Middle in 2022, and Kirkwood High last year in August 2023.

Morning commutes to the Kirkwood School campus are typically met with heavy traffic. According to County Chief Engineer Nick Powell, the road widening had been planned before the Kirkwood School campus was built. The administration at the time said the site was viable land for the school, but the road needed to be improved.

Meanwhile, Montgomery County spokeswoman Michelle Newell told Clarksville Now that the county remains on track to meet its initial goal during the design and right-of-way acquisition phases.

Newell added to her comments by saying that as with any other road construction project, there will be growing pains that include delays, and she encourages drivers to prepare by allowing extra time to get to their destination during construction phases.

Proposal to improve Rossview Road

On Tuesday, June 2, the school board met for its monthly study session and received the first reading of the proposal from Bryan Lopp, a member of the CMCSS Operations Team.

According to Lopp, discussions about improving the roadway had been ongoing since 2018.

In November 2020, the County Commission initially approved up to $3 million for the project, which was to affect a 3.6-mile section of Rossview Road from Hayes Lane to International Boulevard. The current proposal calls for 3.12 miles of Rossview Road to be affected.

According to Powell, the initial idea was to start construction just past Hayes Lane, but that seemed like a realistic end point. However, even though Montgomery County is overseeing, facilitating and funding much of the project, Rossview Road is still a state highway, so the county must comply with Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and federal guidelines.

“I think when the federal government started looking at the project, Hayes Lane was a dead-end street, so it wasn’t an appropriate project terminus,” Powell said. “The school system project is an appropriate terminus, even though it wasn’t built at the time, it had to be. So we had to pull it back a little bit to the west, just past the entrance to the (Kirkwood) school.”

During the CMCSS study session, the board was able to view several renderings of the area around the Kirkwood School campus that would be affected by this road extension. Improvements to the area would include a driveway, sidewalks and curb and gutter drainage.

To complete these improvements, CMCSS will need to respond to requests for rights of way and easements. Montgomery County approved a bid to CMCSS for the right of way and easements, which represent 0.241 acres, for $40,200.

CMCSS Recommendation to School Board

Lopp explained that after extensive research, the CMCSS operations team determined that acquiring the right-of-way would be a positive benefit to the district and the community.

“The setbacks in the original development plan for the roadway expansion are now necessary to accommodate the five thousand customers who will visit the soon-to-be-completed Kirkwood School campus,” Lopp said. “These improvements will improve traffic flow and safety at the Kirkwood School campus and the surrounding community.”

Instead of accepting the $40,200 offer, the CMCSS operations team recommended a donation of 0.241 acres to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

“Waiving the $40,200 compensation amount would ease the burden on Montgomery County taxpayers who are funding this portion of the road expansion,” Lopp said.

According to Newell, it is currently unclear when work will begin because TDOT has not included the funding in its budget process.

The project will take approximately two years to complete once construction funds are approved and the construction phase begins.