Ribbon cutting held for Fields Avenue extension – The Daily Citizen

In the spring of 2007, city of Dalton and Whitfield County officials met to discuss the possibility of a TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) program dedicated to improving the transportation infrastructure of the city and county. Working together, city and county transportation and administrative officials put together a project list which had more than 50 specific road and bridge improvement projects. Later that year, voters approved the TSPLOST.

One of the city's top three TSPLOST projects was the widening and extension of Fields Avenue from Underwood Street south to East Morris Street. This project had three main objectives.

Traffic congestion relief: This project gives an alternate north-south route to Glenwood Avenue, which is heavily congested during certain times of the workday. This project provides the last leg of a three-lane roadway beginning at East Morris Street and extending north to Cleveland Highway. A new traffic signal at MLK Jr. Boulevard and Fields Avenue provides a much safer intersection.

Quality of life: This project improves the quality of life for this area by providing sidewalks on both sides of the street. Since schoolchildren who attend either Blue Ridge Elementary or Roan Street Elementary who live within 1/2 mile of either school are not provided bus service, sidewalks will make their walk to and from school each day much safer. Biking and walking is also safer for everyone.

Economic development: The East Morris Street corridor is one of the fasting growing areas for startups of small businesses in the city. This new street provides greater connectivity for those businesses and customers.

Project facts

Project length was 3,650 feet (one-third of that was new location construction from Nelson Street to East Morris Street).

Construction contract: Just under $5.1 million and was completed by Northwest Georgia Paving Inc. of Calhoun.

Project involved widening Fields Avenue from two to three lanes from Underwood Street to Nelson Street and constructing three new lanes from Nelson Street to East Morris Street.

Two new traffic signals were constructed:

1. At East Morris Street and Fields Avenue/5th Avenue.

2. At Fields Avenue/MLK Jr. Boulevard (corrected an offset problem that traditionally had a high number of crashes).

MLK Jr. Boulevard was also widened to five lanes to accommodate left-turn lanes at Fields Avenue.

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Ribbon cutting held for Fields Avenue extension - The Daily Citizen