Does Hamilton County Have Poor Transportation Infrastructure?

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Earlier this week, the US Government turned their attention to Chattanooga’s Transportation Infrastructure, giving $25 million for the rehabilitation of Wilcox Boulevard Bridge.

But infrastructure problems don’t stop at Wilcox Bridge.

They don’t even stop at Chattanooga’s City limits.

“We have had tremendous growth in the Eastern Part of Hamilton County, particularly out toward Apison and up toward Collegedale and Ooltewah, and we haven’t improved the road conditions as far as width and curving and issues of that matter,” said District 8 County Commissioner Tim Boyd.

With Chattanooga growing at a rate of three to one and Hamilton County’s population steadily increasing over the last decade, some officials are concerned that the area’s roads aren’t up to par with increased development.

On Snow Hill Road in Ooltewah, there have been numerous traffic accidents over the years, some fatal.

“It’s had very few improvements, other than better pavement, in the fifty years I’ve been driving on Snow Hill Road. And part of the problem is we don’t have the right-of-ways to widen. We would have to go in and purchase right-of-ways from private individuals for a long length of property, and that is a problem. People don’t want to give up their yards and I totally understand that,” said District 4 County Commissioner Steve Highlander.

To address these needs, Chattanooga City Council is including stipulations for infrastructure in rezoning requests.

“If you’ll look at a lot of zoning cases now, you’ll see attached to that road improvements at the forefront of the topic of discussion with rezoning requests,” said City Council Chairman Darrin Ledford.

Beyond the city limits, County Commissioner Tim Boyd believes there ought to be millions set aside for road infrastructure.