Red Bank authorizes up to $25,000 for engineering work to refine TDOT paving and restriping plans on Dayton Boulevard

The Red Bank Board of Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing an expenditure not to exceed $25,000 to Volkert Inc. for professional engineering services to develop a scope of work and plans for striping and lane reconfiguration along Dayton Boulevard (State Route 8).

Greg Tate, public works director, said the request responds to a TDOT paving project and asks whether TDOT should consider lane changes during state resurfacing. "Keeping in mind, the paving project is solely a TDOT project with no requirements or no input from the City Of Red Bank other than our request to restripe," Tate said. He explained Volkert will produce plans for pavement marking changes, new striping patterns, signage, overhead signs and necessary traffic-signal updates so the city’s desired lane reductions and multimodal elements can be incorporated.

Staff planner Michael Pham and Chattanooga engineers worked on an initial design that would reduce the southbound approach at Signal Mountain Road to a single through lane with a dedicated right-turn lane and merge traffic from Signal Mountain Road into a single southbound lane. The design would restripe northbound Dayton Boulevard through the tunnel corridor as a three-lane section with a center turn lane and a wider shoulder intended to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

Tate and planner Michael Pham told commissioners that TDOT will repave and restripe the state-maintained roadway, but Red Bank is expected to pay for any additional changes north of the intersection. Volker was asked to prepare a set of plans so TDOT’s contractor could execute the work under the larger paving contract. The resolution authorizes Volker’s scope and fees under the city’s on-call services contract.

Vice Mayor Berry moved approval; Commissioner Wilkinson seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote; no resident comments were offered on the resolution during the meeting.

Commissioners discussed using the multimodal grant program in the future to fund sidewalks and buffered bike lanes beyond the restriping work, noting a previously discussed $1,000,000 cap on the multimodal grant application and the potential to leverage TDOT’s work for additional multimodal improvements.