LAWRENCEBURG, TN
Tennessee DOT turns to Neel-Schaffer for innovative safety solution for Amish buggy travelers
Looking for an innovative way to make safety improvements to State Route 6 in Lawrenceburg, TN, the Tennessee Department of Transportation turned to Neel-Schaffer for ideas.
The solution: A “Buggy Path” built adjacent to the busy five-lane roadway that is utilized by the area’s growing number of Amish residents who don’t drive automobiles but instead use horse-drawn buggies for their main mode of transportation.
Neel-Schaffer provided engineering design services for this uncommon multi-modal path, which was completed in 2023. The 14-foot-wide path provides for two-way buggy traffic for a slightly more than one-mile stretch of SR 6 in Lawrenceburg.
The path provides access to several retail and grocery stores in a high-traffic area and runs from Remke Lane to just north of Good Hope Road. The project included modifying an existing traffic signal on the south end of the project, at Beasley Road, and adding a new signal at the north end of the project that allows the buggies to cross the busy road.
The Buggy Path was designed as part of a larger contract in which Neel-Schaffer designed some 17 new sidewalks or multi-modal paths for TDOT. The projects are being built over a three-year period, for a total cost of about $19 million.
