Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee ideal lanes

[Daniel Fiddler]

This is a work in progress, but is largely done.  Share with me what you think so far please!

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?hl=en&mid=1HkJfYDP8GaXAoRTdW4pNJjw7O2QEY6tL&ll=31.35337815103796%2C-85.07163580000001&z=6

[sprjus4]

My opinions here...

For Georgia... I-20 should be 6 lanes all the way to Alabama, and I-85 should be 6 lanes south to the I-185 split. Possibly even more parts of I-95 to 8 lanes... I recall some existing 8 lane stretches that exist outside Brunswick.

For Tennessee... I-81 should be 6 lanes the entire way. Possibly more or all of I-40 from Memphis to Knoxville as well, at least in an infinite funding world.

For Florida... I-75 should be 8 lanes between I-4 and Sarasota, along with between Fort Myers and Naples. Can't say for sure, but I also want to say all of I-4 should be at least 8 lanes.

[Daniel Fiddler]

My opinions here...

For Georgia... I-20 should be 6 lanes all the way to Alabama, and I-85 should be 6 lanes south to the I-185 split.

For Tennessee... I-81 should be 6 lanes the entire way. Possibly more or all of I-40 from Memphis to Knoxville as well, at least in an infinite funding world.

That's feasible.  I-40 from Memphis to I-81 and I-81 throughout Tennessee certainly have more than 30,000 ADT.  I am not sure about I-20 and I-85 though, although if they have more than 30,000 ADT, I can change them as well.  I've travelled both stretches of road, although it's been a few years, so I'm not as familiar with them as I once was, not sure what traffic volumes they carry now.  I'm sure I-20 is busier than it used to be with the completion of I-22 though, well, completion of AL's and MS's portion's, Tennessee didn't complete theirs, I guess I-22 is just going to be routed along I-55 / I-69 and I-269 eventually.

[US 89]

For Georgia... I-20 should be 6 lanes all the way to Alabama, and I-85 should be 6 lanes south to the I-185 split.

85 could stand to be widened all the way through the state. There is a significant amount of ATL-GSP traffic and I've never driven the segment east of Auburn when it wasn't crowded with traffic. That said 20 from Atlanta to the AL border should be a bigger priority.

[hbelkins]

Tennessee really, really, really needs to six-lane I-75 from Knoxville north to the state line, especially crossing the mountain between Caryville and Jellico.

[civilengineeringnerd]

with growth in nashville and increasing truck traffic on I-40, there should be truck only lanes separated from regular car and rv traffic from memphis to nashville at the very least. i say this because nashville has recently become a center of industry as of late, with major mega corporations making their homes in Tennessee, especially around nashville.
memphis has industry thats dying rn, im afraid to admit it, which is due to local policy and high crime, most of memphis industry is moving from memphis to south and west and getting out of Shelby county, some going to nashville.
which frankly i don't blame them for choosing nashville.
I-40 should be 8 lanes with truck lanes separated from memphis to nashville at the very least, with separate exit ramps for trucks so they can get on the truck only lanes. it would at least prep I-40 for future demands, and better prepare the interstate for lots of truck traffic.
in fact, i once worked at a rest area and the supervisor himself told me in the 17 years he was working there, he saw traffic triple, especially truck traffic.

[Tomahawkin]

That's a pipe dream I see toll lanes coming to the NashVegas area before truck lanes and that may not happen until after 2030 backwards laws keep that from happening. Same with the major antiquated interstates and roads in Arkansas

[Georgia]

Tennessee really, really, really needs to six-lane I-75 from Knoxville north to the state line, especially crossing the mountain between Caryville and Jellico.

definitely, right lane for super slow trucks, middle for slow trucks, and left for speed limit like the WB I-24 climb up Monteagle.

[roadman65]

People are forgetting Ocala on I-75. Florida’s latest rise to fame area.  I-75 from the Turnpike Merge to north of that city, is a solid red on GPS maps due to Marion County opening up to developers bringing more folks in especially northern states looking for refuge from whatever ails them in their homeland.

It needs ten lanes to handle it all between those two points.

[hotdogPi]

It needs ten lanes to handle it all between those two points.

I would rather build alternates. While FL 589 is kind of in the middle of nowhere currently (despite clinching it 4 days ago), I would want it to go current end-Ocala-Jacksonville using existing FL 23. The current plan is for it to distantly parallel I-75 further, which would also take traffic off I-75 if anyone uses it, which is dependent on future growth.

Another way to take traffic off I-75 is to make US 301 and US 41 more appealing. (301 is a close alternate; 41 would be for those with origin and destination points both west of I-75 and would take 41 the whole way if it was improved instead of east, along 75, and west again.)

[sprjus4]

^ It still probably wouldn't hurt to widen I-75 to 8 lanes between the Turnpike and Ocala or Gainesville, along with those parallel improvements. I would argue the majority of the traffic is going to stick to I-75 for those improvements, with maybe slightly more diversion with an extended FL-589.

[Tomahawkin]

Give it 5 years and it will be mandatory to make IH 75, 8 lanes minimum from Miami to Northern Tennessee. Same with IH 4 Through Florida. It's necessary to keep up with the retirement and job relocations to the southeast. IH 75 is hell in GA and Tennessee during the holidays regardless if it's winter or summer!

[sprjus4]

^ What is the traffic like on the 4 lane section of I-75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville?

[Rothman]

Shouldn't this be in Fictional?

[Georgia]

^ What is the traffic like on the 4 lane section of I-75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville?

To me, it isnt too bad unless there is adverse weather/fog on that one stretch over the river or a truck race between one going 60 and one going 60.25.

[CtrlAltDel]

^ What is the traffic like on the 4 lane section of I-75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville?

To me, it isnt too bad unless there is adverse weather/fog on that one stretch over the river or a truck race between one going 60 and one going 60.25.

Nobody asked, but I was curious about how long it would take for one truck to pass another at a 0.25 mph difference, and depending on how much space you want to leave between them as they start and end the pass, it can take quite a bit of time:

If you want one truck length of space at the beginning and the end, it will take 9 minutes and 38 seconds.
If you want half a truck length of space at the beginning and the end, it will take 7 minutes and 14 seconds.

I would have thought it would be much less than that, even for a relatively small speed differential.

[codyg1985]

^ What is the traffic like on the 4 lane section of I-75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville?

To me, it isnt too bad unless there is adverse weather/fog on that one stretch over the river or a truck race between one going 60 and one going 60.25.

It is heavy traffic, but the traffic mostly moves at normal speeds.

I think TDOT wants to widen I-75 to six lanes up to Cleveland, TN. I don't think there are long-range plans to go further than that.

[Georgia]

Yep, Cleveland would be the perfect stopping point for a widening of that stretch.

[civilengineeringnerd]

It needs ten lanes to handle it all between those two points.

I would rather build alternates. While FL 589 is kind of in the middle of nowhere currently (despite clinching it 4 days ago), I would want it to go current end-Ocala-Jacksonville using existing FL 23. The current plan is for it to distantly parallel I-75 further, which would also take traffic off I-75 if anyone uses it, which is dependent on future growth.

Another way to take traffic off I-75 is to make US 301 and US 41 more appealing. (301 is a close alternate; 41 would be for those with origin and destination points both west of I-75 and would take 41 the whole way if it was improved instead of east, along 75, and west again.)

if we are to do alternates, then in tennessee US-70 follows I-40 for the entirety of its stretch through tennessee needs widened to be a controlled access divided highway, similar to what they did to TN-22 from just inside carroll county to martin tn before it becomes a freeway.
doing that would allivate the truck traffic on I-40.

[sprjus4]

^ US-70 follows I-40 within about 5-10 miles the whole way... there is zero need to improve that to a freeway. I-40 IS the freeway routing for US-70. Widen I-40 to 6 general purpose (non toll) lanes if there's a need. That will fix the issue.

[civilengineeringnerd]

^ US-70 follows I-40 within about 5-10 miles the whole way... there is zero need to improve that to a freeway. I-40 IS the freeway routing for US-70. Widen I-40 to 6 general purpose (non toll) lanes if there's a need. That will fix the issue.

eh yea i get that. theres a need to widen I-40 but knowing nashville pork, it won't be a thing for a very long time.
widening US-70 is also needed, and i wasn't saying to widen it to freeway, i was just saying to widen it to a divided 4 lane roadway with at grade intersections and interchanges where needed, similar to TN-22 from parkers crossroads/exit 108 to martin tn before it becomes a full freeway to union city.

[sprjus4]

^ US-70 follows I-40 within about 5-10 miles the whole way... there is zero need to improve that to a freeway. I-40 IS the freeway routing for US-70. Widen I-40 to 6 general purpose (non toll) lanes if there's a need. That will fix the issue.

eh yea i get that. theres a need to widen I-40 but knowing nashville pork, it won't be a thing for a very long time.
widening US-70 is also needed, and i wasn't saying to widen it to freeway, i was just saying to widen it to a divided 4 lane roadway with at grade intersections and interchanges where needed, similar to TN-22 from parkers crossroads/exit 108 to martin tn before it becomes a full freeway to union city.

It would be cheaper to widen I-40, and far more effective... again the point of building I-40 on new location when they did, was to avoid impacts of widening US-70... widening US-70 is exactly what they didn't want to do.

Use the money and widen I-40...

[DeaconG]

I-10 needs to be six-laned between Jacksonville and I-75 yesterday. Every time I use it to visit family in West Florida it's a bloody conga line both ways. Ideally I'd love to see it widened between Jax and Pensacola or Tallahassee, but I'm a realist (there's no justification between Tallahassee and Pensacola, the traffic's not there), that's not going to happen in my lifetime.

[Rothman]

Shouldn't this be in Fictional?

Yes, it should be in Fictional.