A road more than two decades in the making is now a reality in Johnson City and leaders say drivers stand to benefit. After a year-and-a-half of construction, Johnson City leaders unveiled University Parkway Extension Tuesday morning.
The road now easily connects W. Market Street to East Tennessee State University and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. It cost the city $4.8 million dollars to build and cost some homeowners their homes. Still, the city says the project's benefits far outweigh those costs.
"With the previous road configuration, it was extremely difficult to explain to someone how to get to ETSU," Johnson City City Manager Pete Peterson said. "Now we can tell them to go down Market Street and turn on University Parkway and it takes you right into the entrance of the university. This roadway is designed to accommodate much higher traffic volumes than the narrow two-lane local streets that were being utilized previously."
Leaders broke-in the new asphalt with a procession of cars. The less-congested road opened to all drivers shortly after 10 am.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement