Chapman Highway

Engineering Director

Thomas V. Clabo, P.E.
[email protected]
(865) 215-2148

400 Main St., Suite 475
P.O. Box 1631
Knoxville, TN 37901

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Chapman Hwy. looking northComprehensive New Report Identifies Priorities for Improving Safety on Chapman Highway

A comprehensive 40-page final report summarizing the Chapman Highway Implementation Plan has been completed and can be accessed by clicking HERE.

“This final report is not ‘just another study,’ but instead its purpose is to function as an implementation plan that provides a prioritized list of implementable projects to transform and improve Chapman Highway,” the report states.

The report, prepared on behalf of the City of Knoxville, studied a six-mile section of Chapman Highway within the city limits, between Blount Avenue (near Henley Bridge) and Mountain Grove Drive (just south of Gov. John Sevier Highway). It combines traffic data with extensive input from stakeholders in recommending priorities for safety improvements along the state route.

“The Transportation Planning Organization team that managed this initiative worked very hard to welcome and incorporate input from people who drive Chapman Highway every day,” Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said.

“This report blended together more than 500 comments from an online survey, conversations with over 280 people who attended community workshops, feedback from four steering committee meetings and two stakeholder meetings, and technical expertise and data from traffic engineers. The research and dialogue were thorough, and the final report is comprehensive.”

The report calls on the City of Knoxville and other funding partners to strategically collaborate and look for opportunities to combine different smaller projects to maximize efficiency.

As a state highway, improvements to Chapman Highway require partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and are subject to TDOT approval. The City of Knoxville has worked with TDOT and invested local funds to improve key points along the Chapman Highway corridor, but a comprehensive approach to making the entire road safer will require resources beyond those available to local government acting alone.

The City will be actively pursuing funding for projects prioritized in the Implementation Plan and will be engaging with TDOT as the state determines specific projects that will be funded through $45 million in state IMPROVE Act funds. The IMPROVE Act will fund projects on a 10.3-mile section of Chapman Highway between Blount Avenue and Seymour.

In the Chapman Highway Implementation Plan, 47 projects were analyzed and assigned a numerical score, based on community input and technical data.

As anticipated, safety for all commuters factored heavily in setting priorities. Creating center turn lanes or medians in all sections of Chapman Highway is a primary focus.

Projects that add center turn lanes or medians, as well as several intersection and bike and pedestrian improvement projects, were among the 12 projects listed below that were scored as the highest priorities.

The projects are broken into categories, with the overall ranking and point score provided:


Center turn lane / median projects:

Lakeview Drive to Chapman Ford Crossing – widen for a center left-turn lane or landscaped median (No. 3 – 140 points)
Nixon Road to Mountain Grove Drive – maintain a center left-turn lane or convert to a landscaped median (No. 4 – 139 points)
Overbrook Drive to Lakeview Drive – widen for a center left-turn lane or landscaped median (No. 5 – 136 points)
Chapman Ford Crossing to Nixon Road – widen for a center left-turn lane or landscaped median (Tied, No. 6 – 132 points)
Blount Avenue to Fort Dickerson Road – widen for landscaped median (No. 7 – 123 points)


Bike and pedestrian improvement projects (sidewalk / bike lane additions):

Blount Avenue to Fort Dickerson Road – provide landscaped buffer, separated bike lanes and sidewalks (Tied, No. 6 – 132 points)
Fort Dickerson Road to Moody Avenue – provide landscaped buffer, separated bike lanes and sidewalks (Tied, No. 8 – 121 points)
Moody Avenue to Young High Pike – provide landscaped buffer, separated bike lanes and sidewalks (Tied, No. 8 – 121 points)
Young High Pike to Overbrook Drive – provide landscaped buffer, sidewalk and shared use trail (No. 9 – 115 points)


Spot intersection improvement projects:

Maryville Pike and Martin Mill Pike Intersections – study alternatives, possibly realigning or consolidating the two intersections (No. 1 – 157 points)
Stone Road Intersection – construct left-turn lanes on Chapman Highway (No. 2 – 144 points)


Transit improvement project:

Between Moody Avenue and Young High Pike – transit super stop, for improved transfers (Tied, No. 6 – 132 points)

The Chapman Highway Implementation Plan will be presented three times on Tuesday, Sept. 10 – at a TPO Technical Committee meeting in the Small Assembly Room at 9 a.m.; at a Planning Commission Agenda Review Committee meeting in the Small Assembly Room at 11:30 a.m.; and at a City Council dinner in Room 461 at 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, a number of City-funded Chapman Highway improvements have been made or are nearing completion.


Recent improvements include:

• Realignment of the Fort Dickerson intersection with improvements to signals and pedestrian crossing facilities (completed in 2015 at a cost of $1 million);
• Sidewalk construction on Young High Pike, including pedestrian facility improvements at the intersection with Chapman Highway (completed 2017; $260,000);
• A reconfiguration of the Chapman Highway intersection with Blount Avenue, part of the Blount Avenue Streetscapes Project (to be completed in fall 2019; includes $300,000 for signal improvements);
• Signalization improvement for the entire Chapman corridor (project cost estimated at $2 million – currently in the right-of-way acquisition and utility coordination phase);
• Collaboration with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to improve bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure on Chapman Highway by creating 3,200 feet of greenway between Stone Road and Woodlawn Pike and 525 feet of sidewalk from Woodlawn Pike to the existing sidewalk near Young High Pike; this project will also create pedestrian crossings at three intersections (Stone Road, Fronda Lane and Woodlawn Pike) and improve four Knoxville Area Transit bus stops (state grant, $950,000; City funding, $858,000); and
• Completion of a concept plan for bike and pedestrian improvements from Henley Bridge to Lippencott Street.


CHAPMAN HIGHWAY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

• Chapman Highway Implementation Plan [PDF]
• Chapman Highway Implementation Plan Appendices [PDF] (42MB)
 Click here to view each Appendix in a separate smaller PDF file
• Chapman Highway Implementation Plan Maps [PDF]

The study focuses on a 6.2 mile segment. It begins at the Henley Street Bridge and continues south to Mountain Grove Drive, just past John Sevier Highway. See map below.



The timeline for the study started with the inventory and discovery phase in April 2018, followed by several workshops, exploration, surveys, etc. until the final report was released in August 2019. See the breakdown below.




SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS COMPLETED OR UNDERWAY ON CHAPMAN HIGHWAY

• Speed limit made a uniform 45 mph inside the City limits - News Release

• Realigned the Fort Dickerson intersection with improvements to signals and pedestrian crossing facilities (completed in 2015 at a cost of $1 million) - Engineering Project Sheet [PDF]

• Completed sidewalk construction on Young High Pike, including pedestrian facility improvements at the intersection with Chapman Highway (completed 2017; $260,000) - Engineering Project Sheet [PDF]

• Under construction: The reconfiguration of the Chapman Highway intersection with Blount Avenue, improving safety for all users. This is part of the Blount Avenue Streetscapes Project that includes $300,000 for signal improvements at this intersection - Engineering Project Sheet [PDF]

• Currently in the right-of-way acquisition and utility coordination phase: Signalization improvement for the entire Chapman corridor (project cost estimated at $2 million)

• Collaborating with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to improve bicycle / pedestrian infrastructure on Chapman Highway by creating 3,200 feet of greenway between Stone Road and Woodlawn Pike and 525 feet of sidewalk from Woodlawn Pike to the existing sidewalk near Young High Pike. The project will also create pedestrian crossings at three intersections with Chapman Highway (Stone Road, Fronda Lane and Woodlawn Pike) and improve four Knoxville Area Transit bus stops. The state grant is $950,000 and the City is providing $858,000 in local funds (total project cost, $1.8 million) - Press Release

• Completed a concept plan for bike and pedestrian improvements from Henley Bridge to Lippencott Street. - Concept Plan [PDF]


CHAPMAN HIGHWAY MULTIMODAL PROJECT

Designer: Barge Design Solutions  |  Projected Bid Date: TBD
This project designs and constructs a multi-use path between Stone Road and Woodlawn Pike along Chapman Highway. The project also extends a sidewalk from this intersection and connect to the existing sidewalk near Young High Pike. It creates pedestrian crossings at three intersections, with Chapman Highway at: Stone Road, Fronda Lane, and Woodlawn Pike. In addition it improves four KAT bus stops.
• TDOT Grant to Create Pedestrian, Bike Path on Chapman Hwy. - 02/04/19


MISC FILES

City Resolution (R-114-2019) in support of TDOT's implementation of Chapman Highway Safety Improvements as prioritized in the IMPROVE Act - 04/09/19 [PDF]
Chapman Highway Map of Fatal Crashes 2005-2018 - 03/29/19 [PDF]


NEWS RELEASES

• TDOT Grant to Create Pedestrian, Bike Path on Chapman Hwy. - 02/04/19
• City Reduces Speed Limit on Stretch of Chapman Hwy. - 05/30/19


PAST STUDIES

Chapman Highway Corridor Study - 2006 [PDF]
South Waterfront Vision Plan - 2006 
South Waterfront Traffic Study - 2007 [PDF]
Plan East Tennessee - 2011
South City Sector Plan - 2011 [PDF]
Bicycle Facilities Plan - 2015 [PDF] | Appendix [PDF]
Mobility Plan 2040 - 2017