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Residents press for 3-way stop at Vester/Castle Pike intersection as developers plan warehouses; developer asks county to maintain future light at Beckwith/US-
Summary
Residents urged a 3-way stop to slow truck traffic near new warehouses; a consultant for the Mirabella subdivision asked the county to accept maintenance responsibility for a future traffic signal at Beckwith Road and U.S. 70 until the parcel is annexed into Mount Juliet.
Several residents and a developer representative urged the Wilson County Road Commission to prioritize traffic safety at multiple intersections affected by new warehouses and development.
Resident Joe Davis said trucks serving new warehouses are already using the intersection at Vester Road, McCreary (transcribed variously) and Castle Pike and urged a 3-way stop so trucks would have to stop before proceeding through the intersection. "We're very much in favor of the 3 way stop type intersection or something where the trucks have to stop and allow the residents at least equal chance to use the intersection," Davis said, noting uncertainty about how many trucks might use the route.
Amanda Wright, a Vester Road resident, told the commission a 3-way stop would be safer and would help farm deliveries and agricultural equipment navigate turns. "We support the 3 way stop," she said.
Kevin Sturgell of M2 Group, speaking for the Mirabella subdivision proposal on Beckwith Road and U.S. 70, described a separate request: based on Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) input and the project's traffic study, the developer's traffic study calls for a traffic signal at Beckwith and U.S. 70. Sturgell asked the county to take maintenance responsibility for that future signal until the site is annexed into Mount Juliet, saying the site is currently in the county's jurisdiction but is expected to be annexed later.
Commissioners and staff expressed sympathy for residents' safety concerns but urged caution. Commissioner Haskell Evans and Superintendent Murphy said it may be best to install the proposed roadway changes and monitor traffic before committing to a permanent 3-way stop; Murphy noted that changes are harder to reverse than to deploy. Staff also reported a previously quoted cost to add vehicle-detection loops at an intersection of about $60,000, cited during the meeting as a cost consideration if signal timing or detection adjustments are needed.
No formal action on the Vester/Castle Pike intersection or the Mirabella signal maintenance request was taken during the meeting; commissioners described the proposals as matters for further engineering design, traffic counts and potential follow-up with TDOT for state-road connections.
