Jefferson, BOC approve Kroger traffic light deal
Traffic signal expected to be in place on bypass by end of year
BY ANGELA GARY
Construction of a new traffic signal on the Jefferson bypass should begin soon following action by two government boards in the past week.
An agreement between the City of Jefferson and the Jackson County Board of Commissioners for the county to manage road upgrades and install a traffic signal at the Kroger intersection was approved by both boards in the past week.
The Jefferson City Council approved the agreement at a called meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 19, while the Jackson County BOC approved the document Tuesday night.
At the Jefferson meeting, city manager John Ward said action was not taken earlier because the city and county were both making changes to the agreement and the attorneys were reviewing the document.
“The ball is in their court now,” Mayor Jim Joiner said after the agreement was approved. “We are hitting it back across the net.”
At the BOC meeting Tuesday, the agreement was approved unanimously.
The agreement outlines details of how the project will be handled. In the proposed agreement, the county would agree to manage the construction and engineering of the project and donate $40,000 toward its cost. The city also has a list of requirements, including paying all costs, that it must complete as well.
Once the project begins, Old Pendergrass Road will be closed for several weeks to install turning lanes at the Jefferson bypass. That will have a major impact on school traffic in the area and on traffic traveling through the Kroger shopping center area. The new traffic signal is expected to be in place by the end of the year.
