Roundabout could be coming to one West Tennessee county

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — A new roundabout could be coming to one West Tennessee county.

With many topics discussed, including new businesses that have moved downtown and housing concerns, one that brought numerous questions and concerns was a possible addition to a flow of traffic.

“The County Commission asked me to come and speak on the traffic study that was coordinated with the school system. They hired a consulting traffic engineer to do a traffic study for the Pope Project. And they wanted me to come and talk about the findings in that study,” said Stan Pilant, the Director of Planning for the City of Jackson.

The study led to one main option for solution, and it was not a traffic light.

“The roundabout was an option that was chosen for the Pleasant Plains, Ashport intersection. And they felt like the traffic study gave two options, and the roundabout was the best option in terms of mitigating the delays that would be caused by additional traffic,” Pilant said.

Many questions and concerns arose concerning the roundabout, comparing the structure to the current roundabout leading into downtown. The design phase is next on the list, but there is another area of concern.

“That requires a budget, and the budget that’s right now, that they got for the traffic improvements, is probably not sufficient for the improvements that are going to be needed. So there’s going to have to be some budget decisions. And there’s also going to have to be some timing decisions,” Pilant said.

The project is estimated to be complete in 2026, if there are no unforeseen interruptions.

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