Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Signage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Town staff presents new Lowry Street gateway sign design; construction plans next step
Summary
Public works staff showed council prototypes for two new town gateway signs on State Route 1 (Lowry Street), explained clearance and lighting constraints in the TDOT right-of-way, and said construction plans and bidding will follow council approval.
Charles King presented proposed designs for two new Smyrna gateway signs on Lowry Street (State Route 1) and asked the council for feedback before finalizing construction plans.
King said the two existing Lowry Street signs — the approaches from Luverne and Murfreesboro — were the starting point for new designs developed by CESO consultants. He said the town submitted a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) application in June 2023 and executed a TDOT license agreement in June 2024. The proposed signs are located inside the TDOT right-of-way and must meet the agency’s clear-zone requirements: the base of the sign needs to be 30 feet from the edge of pavement to the clear-zone line and the available distance from the clear zone to the roadway right-of-way is only about 5 feet 2 inches, which led the design team to propose a tall, narrow sign to get the face up out of the ditch and to road level.
Design and materials: King said the sign face will be aluminum with raised black letters; the stone base will be locally quarried true limestone. He gave the dimensions as roughly 4 feet 11 inches wide and 10 feet 6 inches tall. Lettering sizes are intended to be legible to vehicles traveling about 45 mph: ‘‘Smyrna’’ at 8-inch letters, ‘‘Town of’’ and ‘‘Established 1869’’ at 5-inch letters, and the connector ‘‘of’’ at 3 inches. Lighting will be low-voltage ground lighting hardwired to existing power where available: the south (Murfreesboro) approach can use Middle Tennessee Electric and existing service; the north approach will require working with NES to bring in power.
Maintenance and timeline: King said consultants recommended an aluminum face rather than natural limestone for the sign front because of lower maintenance needs along a roadside location. If the council is comfortable with the design, staff will finish construction drawings and prepare a bid book for advertisement within the next couple of months.
Why it matters: The signs are in TDOT right-of-way and must comply with state requirements for clear zone and licensing. The materials, lighting and location choices will determine maintenance costs and future electrical work.
What council asked: Council members asked about materials, whether the stone is real or manufactured and the type of lighting; King confirmed true limestone and low-voltage hardwired lighting. The meeting did not include a final approval vote; staff requested feedback to proceed to construction drawings and bidding.
