Tag: Tennessee Department of Transportation

TDOT Will Halt Construction for Easter Weekend

Peter D'Abrosca
Road construction

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will halt interstate construction beginning Thursday as travelers head to their Easter destinations. 

“TDOT crews and contractors will stop all road construction work that requires lane closures beginning Thursday, March 28, at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 1 at 6:00 a.m.,” a release from the department says. “This will provide maximum roadway capacity to motorists expected to travel across the state this upcoming holiday weekend.”

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TDOT’s ‘Nobody Trashes Tennessee’ Partnering With Local Girl Scouts

Peter D'Abrosca
Nobody Trashes Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee project is working with local Girl Scouts to give them patches for helping with the cause.

“Girl Scout Troops are highly committed to community service projects and environmental education, and we are thrilled to have participation from all three councils representing the entire state of Tennessee participating in our Nobody Trashes Tennessee patch program,” said Brittany Morris, TDOT’s transportation program supervisor in a release. “Within the first two months of launching the program in Middle Tennessee, we had approximately 1,000 Girl Scouts earn a Nobody Trashes Tennessee patch. We are excited to have even more participation from Girl Scouts this year and have numerous ways for them to get involved.”

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Nashville, Business Owners Looking for Public Feedback on Traffic Reduction Plan

Peter D'Abrosca

The city of Nashville in conjunction with a group of business owners is seeking feedback on a plan to reduce traffic in the metro area. 

Connect Downtown is a joint project by the Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT), WeGo Public Transit, the Nashville Downtown Partnership, and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), whose goal is “to improve mobility and address traffic congestion in the downtown core.”

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Wants to Remove 50,000 Pounds of Litter During ‘No Trash November’

Peter D'Abrosca

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is encouraging residents statewide to participate in its annual No Trash November, with the goal of picking up as much litter as possible from Tennessee’s roadways.

“Litter on our public roads is detrimental to safety, the environment, and the economy, while also detracting from Tennessee’s natural beauty,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley in a press release. “We want to ensure our roadways are safe from the harmful effects of litter, especially with the upcoming holidays and increased travel.”

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Tennessee State Representative Ron Gant Helps Secure $1 Million to Expand Fayette County Airport

Hannah Poling

Tennessee State Representative Ron Gant (R-Piperton) announced that he has successfully helped secure $1 million dollars in state funds to expand the Fayette County Airport and support future economic growth in the area.

The Fayette County Airport, in operation since 1975, is a county-owned, public-use airport located approximately two miles southwest of the central business district of Somerville, in Fayette County, Tennessee.

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Tennessee Agency Recommends State Add Memphis-Nashville-Chattanooga Passenger Rail

The Center Square

Tennessee should move forward on plans to pursue a passenger rail line from Nashville to Chattanooga to Atlanta, according to a new report from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.

The TACIR report asked the Tennessee Department of Transportation to move forward to determine the cost and engineering of adding that rail service.

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Tennessee Commissioner of Transportation Butch Eley Explains the Choice Lane Plan

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee’s commissioner of transportation, Butch Eley in studio to discuss how the state researched the option to create choice lanes and where it’s been proven successful.

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Transportation Commissioner Eley: If All Goes Well, We Will See Choice Lane Projects Begin During Gov Lee’s Second Term

Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Commissioner of Transportation, Butch Eley in studio to discuss the public-private legislation needed to implement choice lanes in the state.

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I-75 in Hamilton County Set to Be Reduced Down to Two Lanes for One Month Beginning August 1st

Kaitlin Housler
I-75 to Chattanooga

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced that beginning Monday, August 1st at 9:00 p.m. ET, I-75 in Hamilton County will be reduced to two lanes in each direction for one month from mile marker 7 (near the Bonny Oaks Drive exit) to mile marker 10 (between the Volkswagen Drive exit and the Ooltewah exit). The lane closures come as the interstate is undergoing repair for damaged concrete slabs, bridge repairs, and new pavement markings.

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Will Pause Construction for July 4th Weekend

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee motorists will not have to worry about construction delaying their Independence Day plans, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). 

“With so many people hitting the road we want to do all we can to ensure they reach their destinations safely and without necessary delays,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley in a Monday press release. “We are doing so by suspending lane closures during this busy holiday travel time.”

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TDOT Rolls Out Hotline for Motorists to Report Potholes

Peter D'Abrosca

As part of the ongoing effort to battle potholes plaguing Tennessee’s roadways the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Wednesday announced a new hotline for drivers to report those potholes. 

“We all know it’s been a terrible year for potholes and here at TDOT we are always looking for ways to improve our customer service,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “For the citizens, this hotline will give them another convenient way to report maintenance problems on our interstates and state routes. For TDOT, this centralized way of receiving, processing, and tracking information will enhance our operations.”

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Governor Lee Proposes $626 Million in Transportation Spending in Tennessee Budget

The Center Square
construction worker holding a stop sign

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget includes $626.5 million in road projects for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The proposal includes 22 new projects that are categorized under the State Highway Partnership Program ($226 million), Rural Interchange Improvement Program ($176 million), IMPROVE Act Acceleration ($100 million) and economic development projects ($77 million).

The economic development projects, in what are characterized as some of the state’s fastest-growing counties, include a Cleveland Street extension and Interstate-24 underpass in Davidson County ($40 million), a Sullivan County alignment project ($22 million) and widening State Road 334 in Blount County ($15 million).

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Announces Construction on SR 155/Briley Parkway

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced construction would begin Wednesday, January 26 to repair a section of SR 155/Briley Parkway at mile marker 14 near Gallatin Pike. Alternating lane closures will be conducted while the work takes place from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. each day, depending on the weather. 

The project is expected to last five days; the Rogers Group will begin milling in the fast lane and work their way across all five lanes. Motorists are advised to plan for extra travel time and slow down while in a work zone.

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Announces No Lane Closures Over the Holiday Season

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced earlier this week that there will be no lane closures over the holiday season. From midnight December 23 through 6 AM January 3, drivers in Tennessee drivers will not experience any lane closures. 

The announcement read, “Road construction won’t delay travelers during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is once again halting all lane closure activity on interstates and state highways in anticipation of higher traffic volumes across the state.”

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Tennessee Department of Transportation: No Lane Closures over Thanksgiving Holiday

Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced they would halt all lane closures over Thanksgiving Weekend. According to the TDOT website, “All construction-related lane closures will be stopped beginning at noon on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, through midnight on Sunday, November 28, 2021.”

The TDOT said they are expecting higher volumes of traffic due to the holidays.

“Thanksgiving is typically the most traveled holiday of the year,” Commissioner Joe Galbato noted, adding, “Halting road work during this time will provide maximum capacity on our highways and help alleviate congestion, especially during the predicted peak travel days of Wednesday and Sunday.”

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Might Convert Certain HOV Lanes in Nashville into Toll Lanes

Chris Butler

Vanderbilt University staff on Friday published a press release that announced they’d partnered with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to study whether to convert certain High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.

But by Monday the Vanderbilt press release had vanished. A source told The Tennessee Star on that Vanderbilt’s communications staff posted the press release in error. The press release appeared online before Vanderbilt officials had signed off on it.

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Tennessee Getting $11 Million for Interstate 40 Project

The Associated Press

Tennessee’s Department of Transportation is receiving $11.2 million for installation of closed-circuit cameras and other devices along Interstate 40, U.S. Rep. David Kustoff’s office said.

The West Tennessee Republican said in a statement Monday that the federal transportation grant will fund a project to install 143 miles (230 kilometers) of fiber optic communications in 10 counties that sit along a heavily traveled stretch of I-40 between Memphis and Nashville.

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The Tennessee Star Report Takes a Call from a Career Trucker with Insights into Recent Bridge Collapse in Chattanooga

Julie Carr

On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy discussed the recent report from CNN about the Chattanooga bridge collapse. The duo took a call from a career trucker named Art who expressed some interesting views on the situation and the possible reason it could have happened: Gill: This report by CNN that the bridge rail collapse down in the Chattanooga area was because a truck hit it and sliced some of the steel beams that held the barrier, the wall in place. Let’s go to Art. He had a comment about a truck hitting the bridge. Art, good morning. Welcome to the Tennessee Star Report. Art: Thank you. Thank you. Great show, love your show every morning. Gill: Thank you Leahy: Thanks Art. Art: Just a different comment on this truck thing. I haul delivery equipment and have and you name it for about 28 years and part of the problem is not just the trucks. They get a permit to haul this stuff, these oversized loads and normally DOT or TDOT or wherever they originate from, give…

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Governor-Elect Bill Lee Appoints Commissioners of Transportation, Environment, Human Resources

Jason M. Reynolds
Bill Lee

Tennessee Gov.-elect Bill Lee on Tuesday announced three appointments to his Cabinet: for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environment and Conservation and the Department of Human Resources. The new commissioners are: • Clay Bright – Department of Transportation • David Salyers – Department of Environment and Conservation • Juan Williams– Department of Human Resources “I am pleased to announce three additions to our cabinet who bring a high level of expertise and deep knowledge of our state,” Lee said in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with these appointments as we build forward-thinking solutions for Tennessee.” Lee has been busy filling Cabinet positions in the days leading up to his inauguration, which is Saturday. Last week he appointed Court of Appeals, Western Section Judge Brandon Gibson to serve as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Governor. One Middle Tennessee business owner vouched for Salyers, saying, “He’s an excellent engineer who’s had mud on his boots and understands how things have to operate in the real world.” Salyers, of Madison County, serves as the executive director of the West Tennessee River Basin Authority, a division of the Department of Environment and Conservation, according to Lee’s website. Salyers…

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Tennessee Mayor Questions Certain TDOT Spending Priorities

Chris Butler
James Mayberry

Take two pieces of infrastructure. Maybe one is a road. Maybe the other is a sidewalk. Both of those things are under the oversight of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. One project might need more attention than the other. Sometimes the project that doesn’t need as much attention is TDOT’s priority, said Crossville Mayor James Mayberry. Mayberry told The Tennessee Star he sometimes doesn’t grasp why. But Mayberry did say he’s grateful for a new $1.3 million grant to pay for sidewalks in his city and that the money is needed. The money will also pay for new streetlights and crosswalks in Crossville’s downtown area. With that new grant money city officials will bring up sidewalks to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, among other things. Main Street, where much of this work will take place, is a state highway, Mayberry said. “If you drove on it right now you’d understand why it needs to be paved. Having said that, I don’t agree with everything TDOT does,” Mayberry said. “I’ve been told not to ask ‘Why’ sometimes, because it’s hard to get a good explanation as to why certain things get done. I’ve been told not to ask why…

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TDOT Considers Total Closure of Interstate 440 For Reconstruction

Jason M. Reynolds
Highway 440, Nashville

TDOT is planning to overhaul Interstate 440 in Nashville, with options ranging from closing segments at a time all the way to completely closing the roadway for 10 months. The Tennessee Department of Transportation laid the options out at a public information meeting on Tuesday. WKRN reports the department is considering three closures, each focusing on two areas of the road: east, from Interstate 24 to Interstate 65, and west, from I-65 to Interstate 40. One option is temporary lane closures in both directions lasting 36 months. The second option, WKRN says, would be to completely close I-440 east then west for 10 months to get the project done in a faster time. Or, a third approach would combine the first two options and take up to 22 months. TDOT says it is using the Design-Build method to deliver the I-440 Reconstruction Project. Four Design-Build teams are preparing proposals that will include final design of the project, plans for how it will be constructed and a bid amount. TDOT has provided the teams with the three construction options. The Design-Build teams will submit their final proposals later this month, the department says. TDOT hopes to award the I-440 Reconstruction Project contract…

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TDOT Commissioner Says Nashville Transit Plan Would Have Helped No One

Jason M. Reynolds
John Schroer

TDOT’s leader said Nashville’s transit plan failed at the ballot box because it “had no bearing on regional traffic” and would not help anyone, the Nashville Business Journal reports. John Schroer made the comments at a town hall meeting last week at Williamson Inc., the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce. He is commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “It wasn’t going to help anybody, it was going down through the main corridors in Nashville,” the Journal said, quoting the Brentwood Home Page website. “Those were all state roads, and they had to get our approval … in order to do what they were going to do, but no one ever asked us about it.” Schroer referred to the $9 billion Nashville transit plan that failed in a May 1 referendum by a massive ratio of 64 percent against vs. 34 percent in favor. The Brentwood Home Page story quoted Schroer as saying Tennessee’s interstates are being used at only 20 percent of their capacity. “If you look at downtown Nashville, that’s not our issue. We do have traffic, we know we have traffic, but it can be better managed,” Schroer said. Technology and use of flexible work schedules can…

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Planning Continues for Rebuilding Interstate 440 in Nashville

Jason M. Reynolds
traffic jam

Planning is underway for a major overhaul of Interstate 440 in Davidson County, a project that is expected to take three years. The Tennessee Department of Transportation began requesting bids in January for what is called “Design-Build,” sort of a streamlined turn-key project. Contractors bid for the project, which involves the design and construction of large projects. For roadways, that can include design, right-of-way acquisition, regulatory permit approvals, utility relocation, and construction. “This is not going to be a typical low-bid project,” said Kathryn Schulte, TDOT community relations officer for Region 3 (part of Middle Tennessee). “Proposals/plans are currently being developed by the competing design-build teams.” The winning contract will be announced in the summer of 2018, according to TDOT’s timeline. The timeline does not say when work would begin. The plan calls for “removing substandard pavement and widening portions of the 7.6-mile corridor to provide three travel lanes in each direction” between Interstate 40 and Interstate 24. The project is intended to address congestion and improve safety.” The design calls for replacement of deteriorated concrete pavement with asphalt and removal of the grassy elevated median. Other components include ramp widening, construction of new noise walls and replacement of light…

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Public Meetings On I-65 Congestion To Be Held This Month

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Tired of getting stuck in traffic on I-65? The Tennessee Department of Transportation wants to hear about your problems. Last year, the department launched a study to determine the biggest problem areas along the I-65 corridor stretching 120 miles from Alabama to Kentucky. After collecting data and feedback, the department will develop a list of project ideas and costs to make improvements. The study is expected to be completed this summer. There are three public meetings this month at which the public can offer input: June 12, 2017 5:30-7:00 p.m. Delmas Long Community Center – Meeting Room 2 200 Memorial Drive Goodlettsville, TN  37072 June 20, 2017 5:30-7:00 p.m. Brentwood Library – Meeting Room A 8109 Concord Road Brentwood, TN  37027 June 22, 2017 5:30-7:00 p.m. Spring Hill City Hall – Courtroom 199 Town Center Pkwy. Spring Hill, TN  37174 For more information on the I-65 Multimodal Corridor Study, visit https://www.tn.gov/tdot/article/i65study.

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Under Governor Haslam, Tennessee Department of Transportation ‘Overhead’ Costs Have Grown 63 Percent, While ‘Highway Infrastructure’ Spending Has Shrunk By 33 Percent

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) total costs for “Administration” plus “Headquarters Operation,” what would be considered “overhead” in the business world, have grown by 63 percent, from $78.9 to $117 million, in the seven years between Gov. Haslam’s first budget in FY 2011-12 and his  proposed budget for FY 2017-18. While TDOTs overhead has skyrocketed, spending on one of the main Programs for road improvements, “Highway Infrastructure,” has gone down by more than 30 percent in that same time period. Table 1 provides the details of TDOT’s “Recommended Budget By Program and Funding Source” obtained from multiple years of budget documents and includes the links to the source documents and the page references. The table demonstrates that since fiscal year 2010-11, the last year of Governor Bredesen’s administration, there are multiple Programs, including Administration, Headquarters Operation, State Industrial Access, Planning and Research, Interstate System and Highway Infrastructure and TDOT as a whole, for which the funding was reduced by Gov. Haslam’s in his first year and have never recovered. Table 1  Department of Transportation  Recommended Budget by Program Source Source Source Source Source Sheet 46 of 656 Sheet 46 of 550 Sheet 46 of 558 Sheet 47 of 558…

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Tennessee Department of Transportation Says it ‘Needs’ $46 Million For Distracted Driver Programs

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has identified 15 projects in a budget category best described as “distracted driver programs” that will cost $46.4 million, part of the 962 total statewide transportation projects it has scheduled over the next 12 years at a total cost of $10.5 billion. All these projects will be built, TDOT says, provided the governor’s IMPROVE Act, which contains four state tax increases, including a 7-cent gas tax, a 12-cent diesel tax, $5 on motor vehicle registrations and 3 percent on rental cars, becomes law. The department categorized the 962 IMPROVE Act projects into eight program types: Interstate Modernization, Primary Trade Corridors, Rural Access, Safety, Urban Economic Opportunity, Highway and Facility Maintenance, Technology/Intelligent Transportation System, Local Bridges. “Through this process we have made decisions to include only ‘needs’ vs. ‘wants,’ ” Commissioner John Schroer said at the conclusion of the TDOT budget presentation for FY 2017-18. Among these ‘needs’ are the $46.4 million of projects within the “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System” category that is probably better described as “distracted driver programs.” According to SPOT, a TDOT interactive page (short for Statewide Project Overview Tracker), the program type “Technology/Intelligent Transportation System . . .  [includes] TDOT’s cameras, overhead…

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