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Officials weigh realignment of Union Road and Highway 76 to improve safety; appraisals to be sought
Summary
White House officials reviewed a long-studied plan to realign Union Road to Pleasant Grove Road to address a high-crash intersection with Highway 76. Staff said the plan likely requires purchasing about 2.2 acres from multiple owners and will need appraisals and negotiations before any acquisition or condemnation action.
Council members considered a long-running proposal to realign Union Road to meet Pleasant Grove Road as a safety and connectivity improvement. Staff framed the matter as part of the city's major thoroughfare planning (documents from 2010 and 2018) and said the intersection had high crash rates and severe crashes, supporting the need for a long-term fix.
"That intersection had high end crash rate...number 1 in crash rate, number 2 in severity," staff said while describing the planning history and prior studies. Jason Reynolds, the consultant city engineer, explained that a four-leg alignment would improve connectivity and serve as a southern bypass, reducing the inefficiency of several closely spaced signalized intersections.
Multiple council members expressed reluctance about acquiring private land and asked for alternatives such as using the existing Love's intersection or reworking nearby intersections to avoid takings. "I don't like taking someone's land from them," one council member said. Staff and the consultant argued the Love's alignment would not achieve the same long-range planning objectives and that constructing the preferred alignment would likely involve negotiating purchases with four landowners, including the Johnson and Kelly families.
Jason Reynolds said the proposal includes an ARAP permit application to cross a creek (TDEC review) and that project costs remain uncertain because land values and certain design elements (box culvert) affect estimates. Staff said roughly $187,000 had already been invested in planning and a $5,000 appraisal had been ordered on a main parcel; overall construction estimates discussed were on the order of $2 million, and schedule estimates exceeded 18 months for design and construction.
Council directed staff to obtain appraisals and continue negotiations; members emphasized safety benefits but asked staff to present alternative options and the negotiation status before any condemnation or purchase decision.
