City survey identifies 16 miles of Clinton streets needing work
A survey has identified miles of Clinton Roads that could use repairs.
City Manager Roger Houck discussed the survey at the Feb. 23 City Council meeting.
He said that the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization had done an asphalt survey in Clinton using “scientific equipment on a truck” to analyze street conditions.
The team looked at all 71 miles of streets in Clinton in fall 2025. However, it did not look at parking lots.
The latest survey he said identified 16.41 miles of streets in either “poor or very poor condition.”
“A couple of them were actually in serious condition,” he said. “I think they’re just a few streets.”
He said the city will prioritize these streets for maintenance and resurfacing as funding allows.
He said that the city is currently working on downtown paving.
In general, however, the city is looking to do a three-year plan. He said this coming year he would like to have a budget line item for paving work. Previously it had been $108,000 for each year. He said all 16 miles would total $4 million to $4.5 million.
“For 20 years we didn’t do any paving,” Houck said. “And now we’re slowly catching up.”
The Knoxville Area TPO is an organization federally mandated to advise and assist various cities in East Tennessee, including Clinton, with transportation.
“This is a really cool tool,” said Clinton Mayor Scott Burton regarding the Knoxville Area TPO survey. He pointed out that certain roads age differently from other roads, based on factors like use.
Vice Mayor Larry Gann praised the survey.
“It uses laser technology and all kinds of things that are far beyond my comprehension, but they can tell you a tremendous amount of information about the road conditions,” he said. “And I’m just amazed that other cities don’t take advantage of it.”
Houck said the city could prioritize smaller roads that were foound to be in critical condition this year.
He said the city had gotten behind but had started significant repaving of its roads in 2015 for the first time in almost 20 years.
Work since then includes all the roads in in Westwood and Mariner Point Drive, and some in South Clinton.
Also, apart from roads, Houck said the paths in Jaycee Park need work.
“It’s been close to 40 years,” he said regarding the last time the Jaycee Park trail was resurfaced.
South Clinton Park’s trail was resurfaced in 1989, and Lakefront Park’s trail in 2008, although he called it “the worst one in-shape-wise.”
