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[FLRoads]

Does anybody know the status of the final section(s) of TN 840 from TN 100 to Williamson County Road 246?

[Chris]

Are there plans to complete the State Route 840 alltogether? It would probably be the longest beltway in the world clocking at nearl 180 miles.

wiki:

[FLRoads]

Nope.  I believe plans for the northern portion of TN 840 have been scrapped.  There will never be any money for it.   

[mightyace]

Nope.  I believe plans for the northern portion of TN 840 have been scrapped.  There will never be any money for it.   

Unless the new Tennessee toll road authority revives it. 

As for the southern section:
I live near the unfinished southern section of TN 840 and just last week I went to TDOT's website http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/ to check on the status.  The state has apparently is requesting bids on the unfinished sections of the road.

There has been a lot of wrangling with environmental concerns that recently got resolved and a new routing has been decided.  We actually haven't had much trouble with NIMBY's.  Actually, many of the locals want an exit on Leiper's Creek Road and the state refuses to put one there!

The whole reason for the environmental issues stem from the fact that the state is building the road as TN 840 with NO federal funds so that they only have to follow state environmental impact rules as opposed to the more stringent federal rules if it was I-840.

[FLRoads]

Thanks for the info, mightyace.  Yeah, I looked at the TN site last week and I saw the same thing about the request for bids.  Glad to hear that there will not be any more environmental and NIMBY issues with these final segments.  Maybe in three to five years the Nashville area will finally have their southern outer (or as I call it outer, outer) beltway completed.

And I will have to check on this new Tennessee toll road authority...interesting...

[lamsalfl]

all of 840 should be tolled.  This can help prevent sprawl I think.  If you're thinking "Orlando's toll roads didn't prevent sprawl" you're right, but 840 is WAY out there.  You'd have to pay more money to drive the road since you'd need to drive more miles.  Toll it.

[FLRoads]

all of 840 should be tolled.  This can help prevent sprawl I think.  If you're thinking "Orlando's toll roads didn't prevent sprawl" you're right, but 840 is WAY out there.  You'd have to pay more money to drive the road since you'd need to drive more miles.  Toll it.

You're right, Orlando's toll roads did not prevent sprawl.  But the difference here is that 3/4's of this highway have already been built and opened to traffic for several years now, with some portions over a decade.  And I am sure if TNDOT or a toll authority could toll it, it would meet extreme opposition.  And tolling it would only slow sprawl down, not prevent it.  Of course the current state of the economy is doing well enough to slow it

[mightyace]

And I will have to check on this new Tennessee toll road authority...interesting...

The tolling authority thing was something I remembered from The Tennessean newspaper back in the summer of 2007.

Here's a link I found from Google http://www.ooida.com/Legislative_Watch/2007/TN/Updates/SB1152.html

The only project that was specifically mentioned was the "Neelley's Bend Connector" a link from Goodlettesville or Gallatin to Briley Parkway near Opryland.

Now, since TN 840 was built without Federal funds and is currently a state route, no federal approval would be necessary to toll it.  However, I think that the Tennessee Tollway Act does not allow putting tolls on existing highways.  Plus, with the lack of traffic on that road, I don't know whether tolling would make sense.

Also, at the present time, there is little sprawl that TN 840 seems to have caused but with the growth here in middle TN who knows how long that will last.

[Stephane Dumas]

I wonder if TNDOT will upgrade the "Breezewood gap" of TN-111 at its junction with I-40 at Cookeville? http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=36.164202&lon=-85.504295&z=15&r=0&src=ggl

[roadgeek]

TN has too many US Routes with suffix's. US 31E, US 31W, US 31A...I mean c'mon!

[mightyace]

TN has too many US Routes with suffix's. US 31E, US 31W, US 31A...I mean c'mon!

Yeah, east of Nashville, US 70 splits into US 70N, US 70 and US 70S! 

[FLRoads]

TN has too many US Routes with suffix's. US 31E, US 31W, US 31A...I mean c'mon!

There is nothing wrong with the suffixed U.S. highways anywhere. In fact it's a shame there aren't more since AASHTO has gotten rid of some.  It's a part of the rich history of the U.S. Highway system.  

[FLRoads]

It apparently didn't confuse people 70-80 years ago when they were established.  And if it confuses people today, then all suffixed highways would be gone, but they are not, are they??  And yes, I know the answer to that one will be "it costs money."

The main reason it may cause confusion in today's society is that we have too many "rocks" out there and we have to spell everything out for them so they do not get too confused.

Many others may not agree with my ways of thinking, but I am sticking to my guns.

[agentsteel53]

I much prefer a suffix A over an ALTERNATE banner.  Banners should be only for direction ... the shield itself should contain complete information to uniquely identify the road.  Texas has it right for BUSINESS being in the shield itself.

[FLRoads]

Would anyone know the current status of the toll feasibility study for the Intra County Parkway that will bypass the Sevierville and Pigeon Forge area?

[mightyace]

Below is a link to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) pages on the Tennessee Tollway Act.

http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/tollway/default.shtml

These pages include up to date (Jan. 1, 2009) documents on the proposed pilot projects and their status.

[FLRoads]

In reading through the general provisions I see that only new highways, bridges and additional lanes will be constructed as toll. So where does the future Interstate 69 and the remainder of future Interstate 269 stand? Are monies already allocated to those specific projects, or will they too be constructed as toll facilities?

[mightyace]

IIRC Tennessee is only funding current (read in progress) projects like TN 840.

I skimmed the documents and I-69 and 269 are not on the list of pilot projects.  The only one in the Memphis area is a new Mississippi River bridge near Memphis.  IIRC This one is listed as not going forward as a toll facility due to local opposition and tolls would only partially fund the project.

That's one of the interesting things about the document is that none of the 8 proposed pilot projects (4 highway, 4 bridge) would be self-sufficient via toll revenue.

The other thing is at the end of it the author(s) conclude that restricting it to new highways may make it impossible to find a viable candidate.

Bridge Projects
1) Mississippi River Bridge – Memphis Area
2) Tennessee River Bridge – Chattanooga/Hamilton County
3) Tennessee River Bridge – Benton/Houston Counties
4) Hadley Bend Connector – Nashville Area

Highway Projects
1) State Route 475 (Knoxville Parkway) (shown on AA-roads as future I-475)
2) Knoxville Area State Route 374 Extension– Clarksville/Montgomery County
3) Intra-County Parkway – Sevier County (Galinburg, Dollywood)
4) Mack Hatcher Parkway Extension – Franklin Area/Williamson County (a very short unbuilt portion of a loop bypass)

[Tom]

I thought this article would go along with this topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_routes_in_Tennessee

[Hellfighter]

Does anyone know when US-78 will be upgraded to a full freeway from I-269 to the Mississippi Border for I-22?

[froggie]

Does anyone know when US-78 will be upgraded to a full freeway from I-269 to the Mississippi Border for I-22?

Assuming you mean from I-240 to the Mississippi line, since US 78 is already freeway- grade from the state line down to Future I-269.

And the short answer is:  it's not.  There are no plans to upgrade US 78 in Tennessee to freeway.

[rickmastfan67]

Has anybody been able to ID where the newest section of Future Interstate I-269 (TN-385) ends yet?

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/14/three-mile-segment-of-385-02/

I can follow it so far in the sat shots in Google/Yahoo, but it all of a sudden ends in the middle of nowhere, and there isn't another road there....

Any help would be appreciated so I can extend my copy of Future I-269 for the Clinched Highways Project.

[Revive 755]

Times change.  Things move on.  And having two nearby routes with the same route number does cause confusion.

If they want the alt routes, use an ALT banner.  But don't use a suffix.

If someone can't distinguish 70 from 70N, 70S, or 70A, I have to wonder if they can recognize a few other differences such as the difference between 264 and 265.  I also hope they don't travel into states where letter suffixes are common like Nebraska and Oklahoma.

That said, there are some departments that don't help the issue such as whoever was responsible for the I-29N shields in Council Bluffs.

[agentsteel53]

I'd much rather have the "A" than the "ALT" banner.  The banner I think should be restricted only to describe features that are directly related to the road in question: i.e. NORTH, JCT, TO ... ALT implies a direct relationship to, say, 64.  "64A" and "64" note that the roads are as distinct as, say, "64" and "164". 

[mightyace]

I'd much rather have the "A" than the "ALT" banner.  The banner I think should be restricted only to describe features that are directly related to the road in question: i.e. NORTH, JCT, TO ... ALT implies a direct relationship to, say, 64.  "64A" and "64" note that the roads are as distinct as, say, "64" and "164". 

I mostly agree with you, the only place where it would get tricky is with three digit US routes.

In PA, the old US 220 routing from Port Matilda to Milesburg is signed as ALT-US 220.  In your scheme, it would be US 220A.  I don't have a problem with the designation, but it would make for a strange sign.