Pedestrian, Roadway Projects In Front Of BMS Near Completion

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The concrete mixers, backhoes, shifting orange barrels and armies of workers that dominated the roadway in front of Bristol Motor Speedway over the past year are now history.

“I’m driving into the speedway right now, and it looks great and traffic is flowing freely,” Kevin Triplett, BMS vice president of public affairs, said Wednesday from a cell phone as he pulled into the track’s south entrance. “When all is said and done, this has solved a lot of problems. What we’ve got now is a much safer environment.”

Work began in the summer of 2007, and barring any mishaps or late additions, construction will be completed by Sunday’s deadline.

Federal, state, city and BMS dollars were used to finally complete a combination of pedestrian and roadway improvement projects in front of and near the track – projects that BMS officials hoped would begin and end much sooner. City and speedway officials unsuccessfully sought state funding for a pedestrian safety project in 2001 and made another presentation to state officials in 2003.

BMS owner Bruton Smith had pushed for pedestrian safety improvements for years and criticized state officials for not providing adequate money for such upgrades. The need is obvious when considering the massive number of people who converge on the speed cathedral.

Twice each year, the track hosts more than 160,000 fans for its Sprint Cup races and more than 100,000 for its Nationwide Series events.

Triplett said Wednesday that he wishes those fans could have experienced a safer, more convenient atmosphere sooner. At the same time, he also said BMS officials learned a lot by going through the process.

“It certainly was an education for us,” he said. “It was not an ideal situation [previous pedestrian and traffic flow] by any stretch of the imagination. This was our first private/public project. When you’re talking about federal, state and city permits … all this stuff is wrapped with red tape. But I have to tip my cap to the city and the contractors.”

Three separate construction companies thundered through the accelerated project at the height of the shuffle early this year.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation decided to rebuild Beaver Creek and Back Creek bridges and make other improvements within the one-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 11E from Exide Drive south to White Top Road, at a cost of about $4.7 million.

TDOT originally planned to build new 10-foot-wide walkways on the side of the bridges, but BMS kicked in more than $232,000 to double the space to 20 feet for pedestrians on the speedway side only.

The bridge work was not scheduled to start for another two years, but the state decided to go forward sooner in an effort to get the work done in conjunction with the city’s project. Meanwhile, the city, using a combination of money from the city, BMS and federal grants, completed new sidewalks on Volunteer Parkway/U.S. Highway 11E leading to the speedway’s south entrance. The city also relocated underground utilities, renovated streetlights and constructed other pedestrian improvements near the speedway at a cost of approximately $5 million. The work is part of the city’s 2006-08 Transportation Improvement Program.

David Metzger, the city’s traffic engineer, said he “can think of only two projects that were larger than this since I signed on here 24 years ago – the building of [state Route] 394 beginning in the mid-90s, and the Anderson Street Memorial Bridge.”

Construction was shut down twice this year during the speedway’s two NASCAR events, once in middle March and again in late August.

Some motorists were miffed at the detours, delays and lowered speed limits on the Volunteer Parkway. Nearby residents experienced problems getting in and out of their neighborhoods. They also went without drinking water and showers from time to time, due to accidental breaks in the old water line being replaced.

In the end, the speedway and its race fans, Bristol residents, tourists, and all manner of passers-by, now have wider and safer roads, new turn lanes and streetlights, and roomy sidewalks and walkways.

“I think we accomplished what we set out to do,” Metzger said. “We’ve got a safer and more pedestrian-friendly environment around the race track. It’s an enhancement that will make things better for race fans, tourists and motorists in general. It certainly helps race traffic as well as our ability to maneuver EMS and fire calls.”

Motorists should also know that the speed limit – which was knocked down to 40 mph during construction – has been raised back to 50 mph.

The Bristol Tennessee Police Department, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and Tennessee Highway Patrol share jurisdiction on that stretch of road. But the city worked more closely with state troopers, who were visible at key lane-change locations and sometimes not so visible as they waited and watched for speeders.

Bristol Tennessee Police Capt. Matt Austin said there was congestion “especially during rush hour, but this phase of construction in front of the speedway went really well. When they were buttoning up the bridge work, we did have some complaints – mainly about congestion. But overall, the way [Summers-Taylor] transitioned traffic from one lane to another worked.”

The pace quickened considerably in January, when TDOT renegotiated its contract with Elizabethton’s Summers-Taylor Construction Inc. The April 2009 completion date was moved up to this weekend, and the company added additional crews to kick construction into high gear.

“Basically, what we have left is very, very minor stuff – a punch list,” said Travis Brickey, TDOT spokesman.

ggray@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512