Tennessee Governor Bill Lee recently announced a $26 billion proposal to address transportation needs across the state. Lee’s infrastructure proposal, “Build With Us,” comes as the state’s growth is outpacing roadway capacity investments.
Citing a net gain of 137,100 jobs year-over-year (September 2021-September 2022) and population increases of nearly 9% across the state, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) explains in a press release that the growth “yields economic opportunity” in addition to “presenting challenges in our ability to move people, goods and services more seamlessly across our state.”
To address both urban and rural congestion in the state, $26 billion is needed in addition to funds collected as part of the 2017 IMPROVE Act, according to TDOT. Nearly $14 billion of the new proposal would support the four major urban areas – Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville.
The hotly debated IMPROVE Act, signed into law by former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, increased the gas and diesel tax as well as vehicle registration fees in order to fund 962 road and bridge projects totaling $10.5 billion.
Lee’s “Build With Us” proposal focuses on addressing three major transportation issues in the state: urban congestion, delivery of project tools, and reforming the employment experience within TDOT.
In addition, Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) are proposed in Lee’s “Build With Us” plan to allow private investment in new roadway infrastructure. Under this proposal, TDOT would contract with a private sector partner to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain Choice Lanes which allow drivers to access a more “reliable lane” with a “user fee” while still being able to use traditional highway lanes for free. In the southeast, Tennessee is the only state that does not allow P3s for developing roads and bridges.
“As Tennessee continues to experience unprecedented growth, it’s critical we invest in roads and bridges to fully harness our state’s success,” Governor Lee said in a statement. “I asked Commissioner Eley to look at best practices around the country to see what’s working and what isn’t. The Build With Us plan will provide quality infrastructure in both rural and urban communities and blunt congestion without raising the gas tax or going into debt.”
Apart from a toll road “Choice Lane” component to Lee’s “Build With Us” plan, no specific proposals for tax and/or fee increases have been cited.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Nashville Traffic” by Cheryl A. Austin CC4.0 and “Highway 40 Traffic” by FormulaNone CC2.0.
I am sure thet fuel tax caused all the problems we have,I can not believe you don’t learn from the Democrats or maybe you don’t care that poor people hurt the most from this kind of programs
so where the heck did all that money from the last tax increase on gas go?
GOV LEE HAS EMBEDDED HIMSELF WITH BIG CORP.
DOESN’T CARE ABOUT TENN PEOPLE. RINO. WILL NOT THROUGH OUT BAD PROSECUTOR
CLEAN OUT NASHVILLES CRIME
100 percent
Many years ago, some executives got together and saw how effective Corrections Corporation of America was in mooching off of the Tennessee taxpayer. Then they founded Infrastructure Corporation of America to accomplish the same thing in the road building industry. Is this new push by Bill Lee to improve “infrastructure” an effort to help Tennesseans or to enrich business cronies?
You are witnessing a red state turning purple.
Really? A red state like Tennessee turning purple or blue? Now, that’s too good to be true! As the Bunko Squad captain on the old television series, The Racket Squad, used to say, “If something SEEMS to good to be true, it probably is.”
Hey, Little Billy Lee. You and your economic “development” bunch have created this problem. You encouraged thousands and thousands to move to Tennessee by giving away tax dollars to big businesses. Now the infrastructure will not support the growth – just like county schools have not been able to keep up with uncontrolled growth that YOU and YOUR BUDDIES have been promoting – again with our tax dollars.
The answer to your plan is – shove it!
I take a hard NO on toll roads. We paid for them with our gasoline taxes and have a right to use them without additional charge.
If money is needed because electric vehicles do not pay road taxes, then tax the electric vehicles.
We live near Highway 70, and several miles of it through Wilson County are STILL 2 lane. When it was repaved a few years ago, instead of even bothering to add a turn lane, they added BICYCLE LANES! You might get yourself killed trying to turn left, but the 10 to 12 bikers that use it are happy, and they didn’t pay one red cent for its construction. Maybe a bicycle license would raise some money for poor, cash-starved TDOT as well…
Bob T – You are so right. Once a toll road authority is established it goes crazy using our tax dollars to build the roads then charges us to use them. I went through this in Oklahoma and Texas. It gets ugly very quickly!