Is Johnson City on its way to becoming the road construction capital of Tennessee?
Most drivers in town would answer an emphatic yes, if they weren’t overwhelmed by the constant need to find detours or make up for lost time waiting in a jam.
Most ETSU students – 81 percent of whom are commuters, according to 1999 Student Affairs statistics – would concur.
Just how many major construction sites will the Tennessee Department of Transportation allow in one city?
The paving projects along North Roan have come in rapid succession, which is about the only thing that can get any speed up on the north side of town.
Then there is the never-ending bridge project at the Interstate 181-State of Franklin interchange that is now entering its third year of work. Any guesses on when this is going to end?
In addition, downtown has been besieged by two exit ramp projects off I-181 at the Unaka/Watauga and Market Street junctions.
Let’s hope, for all this trouble, that there is alleviation of the need for a “dangerous intersection” sign that greets those entering the Unaka/Watauga ramp from southbound I-181.
Pity upon those ETSU students, faculty and staff who use I-181 to go south to Johnson City. The first four intersections, with State of Franklin, North Roan, Unaka/Watauga and Market, all require the driver to encounter some construction before reaching ETSU.
To avoid any sight of the dreaded orange pylons, the southbound motorist would have to exit at
University Parkway, which, though it sounds as if it’s closer to ETSU, is really out of the way.
The only other option would be to exit at Boones Creek, but besides the inconvenience of being rerouted through Jonesborough, that area will soon be ravaged by construction as well.
If 81 percent of the students at this university commute, local traffic conditions should become an issue for ETSU. If administration is concerned about the affairs of its students, it ought to use what influence it has to raise the question of why Johnson City’s streets are marked by more orange cones than a Baskin-Robbins that just suffered a major Tang spill.
Obviously, this matter takes a back seat to the fact that professors are compensated about as well as unionized telemarketers. Still, it is worthwhile to remember what students must go through.
Tennessee’s roads are in great shape. They are unaffected by the extreme cold that cracks the roads of northern states and makes them suspension killers.
Thus, not in as urgent a position as other states, the TDOT should have delayed some of the projects ongoing in Johnson City to provide drivers with some semblance of a viable detour for both residents and ETSU alike.

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