Portland, Tennessee Blog

To Kristal,

I appreciate that your husband is a truck driver, However, you can not simply apply an arbitrary comment such as you are doing by stating that "very few" of the trucks coming through town are avoiding the scales. This is simply not true. Get on the CB radio and listen to them talk about avoiding the scales and how and where to do it.

Portland has a very high volume of trucks that are coming through to avoid scales among other things. Not all, but a good many of them are doing just that. I think there needs to be a bypass around Portland for trucks.

The issue is not taxes paid, but rather safety.

This is in response to the person who wrote about the semi trucks in town. First of all the rd is very narrow and these drivers do a good job handling that truck and trailer through town. One thing you could do to help out is not crowd them by pulling up beside them, won't take but a few minutes of your time to hold back a little until they get through. I'm sure that there has been at times trucks going around the scales, but most of them are bringing in loads and picking up loads from the factories here in town. Seems like people are always so quick to judge what a truck driver is doing, even though they have no idea of what its like to be in control of that truck. Without these trucks a lot of these factories would'nt be running, which means there would be a lot of people without jobs. By the way how do you think the food you buy at the grocery gets here, or who do u think delivers the clothes to the stores that you wear . These drivers also pay 2,000.00 a year to drive on these roads, big difference in the 80.00 you pay to drive on them. They are out working trying to keep America moving , and I think they deserve a little more credit. By the way incase your wondering I'm not a truck driver, but my husband is, and he lives here in Portland, as well as picks up at one of the factories on Kirby rd, so hes not going around the scales when he is in town, he is working, or comming home.

I have a tenage son that is in the process of learning to drive. This afternoon I let him drive home from work. A man about in his 50's driving a mail truck pulled up behind him , while my son was trying to oull out at the stop sighn by krystals. There was a car beside him that was blocking his view to pull out, so he waited until he could see. This man behihd us starting blowing his horn and sticking his middle finger up. When it was clear where my son could see to pull out he did, however this rude man flew by n cut in front of him in while in the turning lane, seems he was in a big hurry to go to Arbys. People acting like this is why a lot of wrecks happen. Also to be a good driver you need practice, I'm sure this old man has been driving for years from the way he looked, however my son has not! People need to respext other drivers and remember at one time they were just starting out and maybe was a little more carefull and took just a bit longer to do things while driving then they do now. My sons leg was shaking and this guy almost had him pulling out even though he couldnt see because he was so rude to be on his tail blowing his horn. I'm not one to get road rage but if I could've got out of my car at the time and chewed him out, I sure would've. Please, people need to respect other drivers, especaily those just starting out and the elderly. What a jerk this guy was!

I have noticed in many places across middle tennessee that roads that are fine get new pavement. This has always amazed me. How many school districts across the mid-state are failing? How many homeless people have we seen out and about, how many people are being thrown off of tenncare and how many kids are getting out of school unable to read or even write a legible sentence. We have kids that are graduating and are unable to read or write but, by God, we will have freshly paved roads, even when they don't need it!!!

Its time for some changes. In every way. Our government wastes entirely too much money. Federal, state and Local. The only way it will change is if WE change it.

I think there are too many semi-trucks (not sure of proper term) on our city streets. They are not able to stay in their lanes when navgating through the center of town. This is very dangerous. There is no where to go when they float over into your lane. Most of the time there is another one on-coming. Yikes, it is a tight squeeze!
It just seems like these monsters are everywhere. I would hate to think of how bad it would be if I-65 didn't run 5 miles outside of town (and ironically almost parallel with at least this section of TN-109). Some have said they are avoiding the weight stations.
I'm sure these trucks are hard on the roads too.
Drive carefully out there.

I would think they would prioritize widening some of the super narrow roads in the county like Jernigan Rd which all of the high schoolers were kiled on last March. Just my opinion.

As I seen it there was no reason at all for that road to be repaved! It was just done not to long ago...another thing that has been bothering me is someone spending 21 million dollars to enlarge hwy109...Ok some may say it is because of all the accidents that happen, I believe a lot of those accident's would not happen if there were more police officers patrolling that are of the ridge..what I don't understand is way are so many people getting cut off Tenncare (my self included) because there is no money to help those that really need it (again myself included) but we can spend 21 million dollars to fix a road or two that really doesn't need it. That 21 million could help people get their medications that Tenncare will no longer pay for. Myself, I take $2000.00 worth of medication a month, they keep me sane, meaning able to function mentally and without blood clots, as well as out of pain due to my degenitive disk disease. Oh I know not everyone is loosing their Tenncare, those with children, and those with cancer. Doesn't seem quite far to me, do I have to have a baby to keep it or get cancer again to keep it?? I am 40 years old, to old for another child and I already have enough health problems, I sure do not want more..but that is what is going to happen without my insurance! It is almost like the government is tell those of us that are past 40 to lay down and die. That is pretty much what a lot of people will do now I guess, just lay down and die.......