A Cumberland County road project that has been on the books for several years may finally be seeing the light of day. Thursday night, representatives from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation held a public meeting concerning the widening of portions of Highway 127 North. The portions of roadway discussed at the public meeting concerns stretches from Potato Farm Road to Hollow Lane and then from Hollow Lane to Lowe Road. The original plans called for 4 lanes to be built in order to alleviate dangerous traffic drive-times such as mornings and late afternoons, but according to TDOT officials, that plan could not get “traction” due to the low numbers of Average Daily Traffic (ADT). It was explained that in order for the roadway to warrant 4 lanes, the ADT had to be at least 10,000 vehicles and the area has been tracked to just under that number. TDOT says that they will be moving ahead with the projects which will construct two 12-foot travel lanes and two 12-foot (10 foot paved) shoulders. It was explained that this would at least prepare the roadways for the two additional lanes to be added at a later date. According to the timeline, right-of-way acquisition is underway with final construction plans for the projects being ready in Sept. 2020. The actual construction would begin in the spring of 2021. Around 200 people flocked to North Cumberland Elementary School for the meeting and offered up their dislike of the changes. Most questioned the changes in the plans and stated that they believed the 4-lane was being developed to help prevent the many accidents cited on the road in the past. Officials agreed with the protests but explained that the ADT did not warrant the 4-lane project at this time. They explained that this proposal was the best way to shoot toward adding the 2 lanes at a later date. TDOT’s presentation ended after one hour of questions then officials divided up to talk one-on-one with attendees. TDOT will hold a public meeting concerning the 127 North projects that are in Fentress County on February 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. at South Fentress Elementary.