I-69 in TN

[abqtraveler]

^^^^^^I will say that the Quality Inn and Hampton did both right building their hotels at the locations they're at, as once I-69 is completed, the interchange south of it will make them EZ on and off for interstate travelers using the new exchange. 

Those hotels predate any inkling of the location of I-69 by quite a bit; especially the Quality Inn.


For the record, that's 13 years of construction for this measly chunk of I-69. Some of that pavement is almost a decade old already.

The grading is a decade old. The paving project started in 2021.

https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/2021/07/16/paving-interstate-69-bypass-obion-county-tennessee/7937940002/

Some of the bridges are a decade old.

[GreenLanternCorps]

^^^^^^I will say that the Quality Inn and Hampton did both right building their hotels at the locations they're at, as once I-69 is completed, the interchange south of it will make them EZ on and off for interstate travelers using the new exchange. 

Those hotels predate any inkling of the location of I-69 by quite a bit; especially the Quality Inn.


For the record, that's 13 years of construction for this measly chunk of I-69. Some of that pavement is almost a decade old already.

The grading is a decade old. The paving project started in 2021.

https://www.jacksonsun.com/story/news/2021/07/16/paving-interstate-69-bypass-obion-county-tennessee/7937940002/

Some of the bridges are a decade old.

That would be true for the bridges of the center section of the bypass  (TN 22, Brevard Road, Mt. Zion Road, and Perry Browder Road), not the Southern section, or obviously, the Northern section.  Those two interchanges and the MtZ & PB Rd. overpass were all built circa 2012.

[TNObion]

Press release today w/ Obion County Mayor regarding the 690 signage. Still no timeframe on when it will be open.

https://www.thunderboltradio.com/2023/12/04/obion-county-mayor-explains-690-road-signage-on-new-project/

[rickmastfan67]

Well, at least that confirms it will indeed be TN-690 to start instead of I-69.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Well, at least that confirms it will indeed be TN-690 to start instead of I-69.

Doing Arkansas's approach, I see... 

[abqtraveler]

Well, at least that confirms it will indeed be TN-690 to start instead of I-69.

Doing Arkansas's approach, I see... 

It makes sense to give the Union City Bypass a temporary designation, because the interchange at the state line still needs to be reconstructed, and the Troy Bypass still needs to be built before it connects to any other part of the interstate system (I-69 in KY and I-155 to the south). Don't hold your breath on either of those projects happening anytime soon.

[Alex]

Progress as of November 16, 2023. Looks like pavement is finally down on that northern section.

[civilengineeringnerd]

Well, at least that confirms it will indeed be TN-690 to start instead of I-69.

Doing Arkansas's approach, I see... 

It makes sense to give the Union City Bypass a temporary designation, because the interchange at the state line still needs to be reconstructed, and the Troy Bypass still needs to be built before it connects to any other part of the interstate system (I-69 in KY and I-155 to the south). Don't hold your breath on either of those projects happening anytime soon.

while i don't know the current progress in kentucky, i would imagine right after the union city bypass gets completed they might start work on the troy bypass as well. they did kinda do that in jackson when they widened the interstate, so it could be a possibility.
however, im not holding any breath at this point, I-69 was a dead project till a couple of years ago, perhaps with kentucky starting on the ohio river crossing and making plans for the southern end of I-69, it probably gave tennessee the political kick in the pants they needed to do some much needed rework on how stuff got funded.

[The Ghostbuster]

Hopefully, once the Troy Bypass begins construction (I believe there is no date for construction as of right now), it doesn't take over a decade to complete it. What exactly were the factors in the Union City Bypass taking so long to construct? Was it merely a lack of funding, or are there other explanations?

[GreenLanternCorps]

Hopefully, once the Troy Bypass begins construction (I believe there is no date for construction as of right now), it doesn't take over a decade to complete it. What exactly were the factors in the Union City Bypass taking so long to construct? Was it merely a lack of funding, or are there other explanations?

Funding and low priority.  Once Kentucky made progress on upgrading the Purchase Parkway to Interstate 69, Tennessee increased the priority and recommitted to finishing I-69 to the junction with I-155

[Henry]

Hopefully, once the Troy Bypass begins construction (I believe there is no date for construction as of right now), it doesn't take over a decade to complete it. What exactly were the factors in the Union City Bypass taking so long to construct? Was it merely a lack of funding, or are there other explanations?

Funding and low priority.  Once Kentucky made progress on upgrading the Purchase Parkway to Interstate 69, Tennessee increased the priority and recommitted to finishing I-69 to the junction with I-155

Does anyone have an idea on when the Dyersburg-Memphis section will start construction?

[The Ghostbuster]

When hell freezes over! That's as good of a guess as any.

[MikeTheActuary]

I-69 between Dyersburg and Millington will be built after oil is discovered in Tennessee and the state suddenly becomes flush with cash.

[Anthony_JK]

But, it will ultimately be built, because any other option that bypasses central Memphis and forces I-69 through traffic to bypass Memphis completely (which any southern crossing/I-55 via West Memphis option would end up doing) would be a non-starter.

[The Ghostbuster]

Congress will have to provide federal funding before the state of Tennessee will ever move forward with building Interstate 69 between Memphis and Dyersburg. Without that funding, the two projects to complete 69 (dubbed SIU 8 and SIU 9) will lay dormant. It could be decades before the environmental studies are completed, and right-of-way acquisition occurs, not to mention construction of the corridor. That is, if it happens at all.

[vdeane]

But, it will ultimately be built, because any other option that bypasses central Memphis and forces I-69 through traffic to bypass Memphis completely (which any southern crossing/I-55 via West Memphis option would end up doing) would be a non-starter.

They could just leave a gap, especially as the chances of Mississippi building more than they already have are even lower.  It's not like there's a deadline on completing it or anything.  Ever hear the phrase "tomorrow never comes"?

[abqtraveler]

Congress will have to provide federal funding before the state of Tennessee will ever move forward with building Interstate 69 between Memphis and Dyersburg. Without that funding, the two projects to complete 69 (dubbed SIU 8 and SIU 9) will lay dormant. It could be decades before the environmental studies are completed, and right-of-way acquisition occurs, not to mention construction of the corridor. That is, if it happens at all.

Congress has pretty much gotten out of the business of earmarking funds for specific road projects. Instead, Congress gives states a chunk of highway money each fiscal year, and leave it up to the states on how they prioritize projects for funding. That being said, there are several competitive grant programs that Tennessee could apply for in an attempt to secure additional federal funding for major projects like I-69, but typically those projects have to be "shovel ready" when the grant application is submitted.  For example, Kentucky and Indiana have submitted a $623 million INFRA Grant application to the FHWA to fully fund construction of the Ohio River Bridge. If Tennessee were inclined to do so, they could also apply for such grants for their portion of I-69. No guarantee Tennessee will get all of the funding they apply for, but there's a chance they'll get something than not applying at all.

[lordsutch]

Congress has pretty much gotten out of the business of earmarking funds for specific road projects. Instead, Congress gives states a chunk of highway money each fiscal year, and leave it up to the states on how they prioritize projects for funding. That being said, there are several competitive grant programs that Tennessee could apply for in an attempt to secure additional federal funding for major projects like I-69, but typically those projects have to be "shovel ready" when the grant application is submitted.  For example, Kentucky and Indiana have submitted a $623 million INFRA Grant application to the FHWA to fully fund construction of the Ohio River Bridge. If Tennessee were inclined to do so, they could also apply for such grants for their portion of I-69. No guarantee Tennessee will get all of the funding they apply for, but there's a chance they'll get something than not applying at all.

Earmarking has actually had a bit of a comeback lately. That said (as I think I've mentioned before) there are a couple of competing concepts at play for completing I-69 in Tennessee; on the one hand, the section of US 51 from Millington up through Atoka to Covington is becoming increasingly built up and will likely need a bypass of some form. That middle section would probably create enough impetus to connect north and south to complete the corridor over the medium to long term.

On the other hand, there's likely to be a need for better access to and from the Blue Oval City site to the north, and logically a rerouted I-69 from Dyersburg to the TN 194 extension/spur would make sense, both to take advantage of the underutilized I-155 crossing and to save a bit on mileage with an I-40 duplex (and I-40 will need widening either way). But that wouldn't do much to help with US 51 south of Covington, since a rerouted I-69 would probably connect into US 51 north of Covington or further up.

Another factor to consider is that with TDOT planning to move most urban Interstate widening into "choice lanes" (i.e. tolled express lanes), that should free up a lot of cash for rural projects, and west Tennessee is substantially cheaper to build in than central and eastern Tennessee due to terrain. Given the choice between I-69 and a revived I-475 or I-840 north or something, I-69 would be much easier to justify on a dollars-per-mile basis if nothing else.

[lordsutch]

TDOT has posted a diagram of the proposed layout for the I-69 state line interchange with US 45E/US 51 at South Fulton on their revamped I-69 page at this link.

The preferred alternative essentially extends TN 214 as a frontage road to meet US 45E at-grade south of the existing interchange and continues it northeast to tie into the Chickasaw Drive/US 45 route. I-69 would have a diamond interchange over US 45E using the existing bridges before curving to tie into the Purchase Parkway about 2000 feet north of the state line. The existing road north of the interchange would lose one of its carriageways and be shifted west to tie into the western Purchase Parkway frontage road crossing State Line Street at grade, which would not be cut off by I-69 (the diagram isn't clear on whether there would be an overpass or underpass here). So there'd no longer be free-flow from the Purchase Parkway to/from US 45E. Also, the existing ramp from US 51 south to TN 214 looks like it will probably be removed to avoid weaving and keep local traffic from using I-69 as a shortcut. This link may or may not work for you without renaming the file. The project construction is currently programmed to start in FY2028.

The page also says the Union City bypass is opening in "early 2024." There is no mention of the Troy bypass either on the page or in the 10-year TDOT plan.

[seicer]

I can't open the image - can you screenshot it and link to it?

[rickmastfan67]

I can't open the image - can you screenshot it and link to it?

If you're on your PC, you have to save it to your desktop, and rename it to a proper JPG file.  They added an extra 'f' at the end for some odd reason.

Anyways, here's the image.

[wriddle082]

Ok so it looks like Kentucky is going to lose their weigh station.  Is Tennessee is going to rebuild it for them?

[abqtraveler]

TDOT has posted a diagram of the proposed layout for the I-69 state line interchange with US 45E/US 51 at South Fulton on their revamped I-69 page at this link.

The preferred alternative essentially extends TN 214 as a frontage road to meet US 45E at-grade south of the existing interchange and continues it northeast to tie into the Chickasaw Drive/US 45 route. I-69 would have a diamond interchange over US 45E using the existing bridges before curving to tie into the Purchase Parkway about 2000 feet north of the state line. The existing road north of the interchange would lose one of its carriageways and be shifted west to tie into the western Purchase Parkway frontage road crossing State Line Street at grade, which would not be cut off by I-69 (the diagram isn't clear on whether there would be an overpass or underpass here). So there'd no longer be free-flow from the Purchase Parkway to/from US 45E. Also, the existing ramp from US 51 south to TN 214 looks like it will probably be removed to avoid weaving and keep local traffic from using I-69 as a shortcut. This link may or may not work for you without renaming the file. The project construction is currently programmed to start in FY2028.

The page also says the Union City bypass is opening in "early 2024." There is no mention of the Troy bypass either on the page or in the 10-year TDOT plan.

That's interesting that the 10-Year Plan makes no mention of the Troy Bypass. I would think they would want to prioritize the Troy Bypass, given that it would complete I-69 between the KY state line and I-155. But another interesting, albeit not surprising observation, is that the lion share of projects for prioritized funding in the 10-Year Plan form a triangle between Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. There are not very many projects in the 10-Year Plan that fall outside that triangle.

[The Ghostbuster]

Maybe they don't have sufficient funding for the Troy Bypass. Another possible explanation is that the Troy Bypass is a low-priority at Tennessee's DOT. And considering how long it has taken to build the Union City Bypass, even if the Troy Bypass was shovel-ready, it might take just as long to complete it as well.

[seicer]

Thanks for the image!

This seems to be a solid improvement that preserves the Whitesell Farm. I suspect KYTC will build a new weigh station north of Fulton. There is no reason for it to be at milepost 0.

On a side note, was the weigh station originally a rest area/welcome center?