Asphalt Mountain not a beautification tool
There’s a recurring theme around Warren County that goes something like this: If we’re the Nursery Capital of the World, then why don’t we look like it?
That’s a legitimate claim and one McMinnville’s Department of Urban Forestry has worked hard to overcome since its inception some four years ago. Urban forestry employees have spruced up the Civic Center area, done plantings downtown, and even added trees around the bypass at Angels Bridge.
But the plan to give the Angels Bridge area in Newtown an attractive new look has hit a snag. Actually, it’s hit a mountain of asphalt.
For anyone who hasn’t noticed, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has been storing an enormous pile of asphalt at the Angels Bridge clover leaf for around six months. And there are no plans to move this less-than-attractive addition which doesn’t earn the county many beauty points.
TDOT officials say the asphalt chippings, which were scraped from the bypass before it was re-paved in September, are useful. They plan to keep the pile where it is and take from it as needed.
At this point, complaining about what should officially be called Asphalt Mountain is probably about as productive as talking to the pavement. It’s doubtful TDOT workers will go to the trouble to move the pile about a quarter-mile down the road to their Nashville Highway property.
But addressing the issue might get TDOT employees to use a little foresight in the future. They might realize there are more out-of-the-way places to leave 10,000 tons of asphalt than next to the bypass and Nashville Highway – especially when it appears that pile may stay there for years.
When looking for ways to beautify Warren County and make us look like the Nursery Capital, flowers and trees are a nice touch. Asphalt Mountain only adds to the junkyard effect.