Beautification Committee Targets Interstate Exits in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Frequent travelers will talk about the beauty of Hawaii, San Diego or Asheville.

A group of Chattanoogans is planning to improve on the natural beauty of our area in the next few years.

It’ll be a public-private undertaking they hope will make other cities sit-up and take notice.

Circuit Court Judge Neil Thomas chairs the TDOT Beautification Committee, the project to beautify the city’s interstate exits.

Judge Thomas says, “If they drive through and see our city, we want them to say ‘wow, let’s stop and look at this place’.”

Judge Thomas says the first targets are ML King and 2nd Street.

“We are looking at something that is really not only in just beautification, but its economic development and pride,” Judge Thomas continues.

TDOT has agreed to pay for the interchange beautifications, but the local community will have to maintain them.

Judge Thomas says,  “We’ll do the best we can here , when we’ve done what we can here and set an example, a good example for the rest of the state. We do want to take this on a statewide basis and eventually compete with the state of North Carolina – which is the state that gave us the idea to do this in the first place.”

North Carolina started its program 15 years ago, primarily using day lilies grown at the state prisons and planted along the interstates.

Judge Thomas and his committee want to emulate that plan, and they want to add artwork.

He says, “You know Chattanooga has great initiatives that we developed and get stolen by other cities. This is an initiative that we want people to steal. We want to set an example for the rest of the state.”

The committee is particularly interested in exit one in East Ridge right now.

” That the entrance to the state of Tennessee. That’s the first thing people see on I -75 coming into Tennessee, is exit one. And if we can say, ‘Look at this exit; this is Tennessee. This is Chattanooga; come visit us’,” Judge Thomas says.

Several private companies have already joined that citywide effort, according to Judge Thomas.

The committee has been granted approval to landscape the MLK and Fourth Street intersections, but it will not have access to the sites until the project is completed in December 2019.