The Chattanooga City Council has approved the next step in Mayor Tim Kelly’s multiyear effort to address traffic delays at the Hamill Road rail crossing in Hixson.
Council members authorized $323,750 in local matching funds toward a $1.62 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, which the Kelly administration pursued in 2024. The funding will support preliminary engineering for a grade-separation project that would allow vehicles to pass beneath the rail line via an overpass.
The project builds on a previous effort that installed an electronic monitoring system to alert drivers when the crossing is blocked.
The crossing, located near a CommonSpirit hospital in Hixson, has long been identified as one of the most frequently blocked in Tennessee. Federal data has also cited it as a national example of the challenges posed by at-grade crossings near critical facilities such as hospitals and fire stations.
City data from 2024 showed an average of about 30 daily blockages, each lasting more than five minutes on average, with the longest delay approaching five hours. Officials also recorded roughly 700 blockages exceeding 10 minutes during the year.
Beyond traffic delays, the crossing presents safety concerns when emergency vehicles are unable to pass. The area is also within the evacuation zone for the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, raising additional concerns about potential bottlenecks during emergencies.
Pinnacle Financial opens Hixson office
Pinnacle Financial Partners has opened a full-service office in Hixson, expanding its presence in the greater Chattanooga area.
The office, located at 5613 Highway 153, is designed to serve individuals, families and businesses in the growing Hixson community while remaining connected to the broader Chattanooga market.
The Hixson team includes financial adviser Chanel Santiesteban; financial specialists Kim Rubright, Tony Froelich, Lindsay Garrett and Benz Udompuntha; mortgage adviser Kim Daniel; and client service adviser Suzanne Dent.
The office offers a full range of financial services, including commercial and personal banking, wealth management and advisory services.
10th annual Believe Bash raises record $2.33M
Erlanger Health System raised a record $2.33 million during its 10th annual Believe Bash fundraiser, held April 18 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
More than 1,000 attendees gathered for this year’s “Building on Erlanger’s Past for a Better Tomorrow” theme, which highlighted the health system’s 130-year history while emphasizing future innovation.
The event featured a futuristic atmosphere with a DeLorean, robots and laser light displays alongside presentations on advanced medical technology.
The total included a $500,000 contribution from Scott Robins and Alison Robins of Group Savings Organization, marking the largest individual gift in the fundraiser’s history.
Proceeds will support renovations to the Erlanger Children’s Hospital lobby and emergency department, with $550,000 from this year’s event designated for the project – the largest single donation to Children’s Hospital in the gala’s history.
Jim Coleman, CEO of Erlanger Health, thanked the community for its continued support.
Additional projects on the Baroness campus are expected to be announced in the near future.
Study cites county’s gap in childcare
Chattanooga 2.0 has released its first Child Care Cost Study for Hamilton County, outlining the financial challenges facing providers and the resulting shortage of available care for families.
The study found that the cost of providing childcare routinely exceeds what providers receive through tuition and public subsidies, creating a persistent funding gap. Hamilton County has about 27,000 children under age 6, but only enough licensed slots to serve roughly one-third of them.
Among children in working-parent households, an estimated 8,400 lack access to reliable care.
Providers spend between $900 and $2,000 per month to care for a single child, depending on age and program size, while families typically pay between $600 and $2,100 per month without state assistance. The mismatch contributes to ongoing financial strain across the industry.
Staffing shortages remain a key barrier to expanding capacity. The average childcare worker in Hamilton County earns about $15.31 per hour, with some wages as low as $10.38, making it difficult to recruit and retain employees. As a result, many providers operate below capacity despite strong demand.
The report builds on a previously released childcare seats snapshot, which found the largest shortages exist for children under age 3 and that 64% of young children live in households where all available parents are working.
The organization said the findings underscore that the shortage of childcare is not simply a supply issue, but a broader funding and workforce challenge that affects families, providers and the regional economy.