At a special-called City Council meeting Jan. 27, the Oak Ridge North City Council approved authorization for engineering firm Klotz and Associates to perform a Robinson Road alternative study in the amount of $39,650.

The study will examine the top five alternative options voted on by residents at a town hall meeting in November.

Joe Sherwin, director of public works and engineering for the city, said the study that was approved is just a preliminary way to find out if any of the alternative solutions will be applicable.

“We first looked at the solution from the county mobility study, and that was the four-lane option that would take out the church and City Hall,” he said. “After residents wanted to add their input and we displayed the different alternatives at the town hall meeting, we now have the top five alternatives. The engineers will now be looking at what each [option] will mean.”

Donald Durgin, engineer from Klotz and Associates, said the firm will be looking at the condition of Robinson Road to analyze the delay and project the data out to the year 2025.

After the study is completed, Klotz and Associates will bring its findings to the council with a recommendation for the best alternative option.