Tennessee

[Plutonic Panda]

Apparently $26 billion is needed to bring highways up to par with traffic counts in Tennessee: https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/12/01/reducing-tennessee-traffic-comes-with-big-price-tag-tdot-says/

[Tomahawkin]

This is interesting because it's going to be imperative if they are going to build a 3 billion dollar Stadium in Nashville. Nashville traffic will be on par with Atlanta if they keep neglecting the pending traffic issues in the area. Thank gawd IH 285 will have toll lanes in 7+ years because they are needed badly

[Brooks]

Apparently $26 billion is needed to bring highways up to par with traffic counts in Tennessee: https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/12/01/reducing-tennessee-traffic-comes-with-big-price-tag-tdot-says/

Welcome to Tennessee, where roads and transit take the backseat while taxpayer funds go toward a new stadium (which replaces one that is barely 20 years old!)

[Brian556]

Collegedale, TN: Truck transporting bridge beam for SR 317 (Apison Pike) was struck by a train, causing the train to derail

TDOT Facebook Post: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=534575158702465&set=a.239818314844819

Citizen Videos of accident: https://www.facebook.com/alfredo.fuentes.9678067/posts/pfbid02jVirGdxaC5x814dQaFT31mSssi1ZZ6zkc2CtZZTZQUnjh53m77gZEboh11nTkrGBl

[Brian556]

What font is used for the word "Tennessee" on the primary state route markers?

[codyg1985]

Collegedale, TN: Truck transporting bridge beam for SR 317 (Apison Pike) was struck by a train, causing the train to derail

TDOT Facebook Post: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=534575158702465&set=a.239818314844819

Citizen Videos of accident: https://www.facebook.com/alfredo.fuentes.9678067/posts/pfbid02jVirGdxaC5x814dQaFT31mSssi1ZZ6zkc2CtZZTZQUnjh53m77gZEboh11nTkrGBl

The SR 317 relocation project looks interesting, including a bridge over the railroad immediately next to some apartments. That bridge is where the beam which the train hit was headed.

[hbelkins]

What font is used for the word "Tennessee" on the primary state route markers?

Originally it was Clarendon. The newer signs use some sort of thin san-serif font.

[Avalanchez71]

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/toll-lanes-in-tennessee-state-leaders-considering-options-to-replace-declining-gas-tax-revenue/

Toll lanes in Tennessee? State leaders considering options to replace declining gas tax revenue

Our state leadership akinned a toll road as a fascist institution.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-politics/toll-lanes-in-tennessee-state-leaders-considering-options-to-replace-declining-gas-tax-revenue/

Toll lanes in Tennessee? State leaders considering options to replace declining gas tax revenue

Our state leadership akinned a toll road as a fascist institution.

You sure they didn't think of toll roads as being socialist institutions instead?

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/QtfevRsYjJtWY6VH6
Found this non typical and non state produced and installed US 441 shield in Gatlinburg.  Pretty neat looking.

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52729164309 The triangle shields I guess are the way Tennessee shields secondary, or routes that other states use blue pentagons in their signing?

[Mapmikey]

Not really. Triangles were how state highways were signed until 1983 when they added many miles of routing and divided the system into state primary and state secondary. The secondary highways continued to use the triangle while the primary highways got a new shield which the TN 153 shield in your photo has.

They still sign with the different shields even though in recent years they ditched the primary/secondary delineation in their state highway system.

Some Tennessee counties use the blue pentagon for their county routes.

[wriddle082]

Not really. Triangles were how state highways were signed until 1983 when they added many miles of routing and divided the system into state primary and state secondary. The secondary highways continued to use the triangle while the primary highways got a new shield which the TN 153 shield in your photo has.

They still sign with the different shields even though in recent years they ditched the primary/secondary delineation in their state highway system.

Some Tennessee counties use the blue pentagon for their county routes.

Their definition of what constituted a primary highway was that it "primarily connects cities" .  So essentially the major routes or shortest routes between county seats or other relevant cities were primary, and everything else was deemed to be secondary.  At times you would have routes that flipped back and forth between primary and secondary.  TN 46 is a good example of this, as it is secondary from its beginning at US 79 to Dickson (including across the Cumberland City Ferry), then it's primary from Dickson to the intersection with TN 100 and TN 7 in Bon Aqua, and then it's secondary again from TN 100 through Leiper's Fork to its ending at US 431 in the Grassland community north of Franklin.

And I am aware of only three counties that use the blue pentagon for their numbered county routes, and they are all in East Tennessee: Meigs, McMinn, and Monroe.

Also, if you look at various roads in rural Tennessee in Google Maps and you see a four digit designation on a rural road, either in a circle or a rectangle, and it's not in one of the three counties I mentioned, I guarantee you it isn't signed.  It is most likely a state-aid designation that was given by the state for roads that they help with maintenance costs, such as bridges.  For example, I used to live off of a roadway in Cheatham County that Google Maps shows as being designated "1948"  in an oval.  As far as I know, it has never been signed as such, and has always been referred to as Kingston Springs Rd.  But it does have two bridges, one over a major CSX rail line and another over a large creek, that likely receives maintenance/inspections by TDOT, and it does receive salt treatments and plowing during snowy weather events, most likely also by TDOT.

[roadman65]

Thanks for the heads up ^^^^

https://goo.gl/maps/NHvJBZHkAxqhDZ8G7

https://goo.gl/maps/NXo7muAeErsrbF3G9

This here is awful. No mention of US 76 on the guide for Exit 1 on I-75.

[74/171FAN]

If I remember correctly, US 76 was signed well enough along US 41 despite that. (If you do not include the odd western terminus that on maps coincides with the southern terminus of US 127)

[roadman65]

US 27 is also left off of guide signs at I-24 when you're heading southbound on old I-124. Your faced with both east and west I-24, but which way does US 27 SB go?

[hbelkins]

Looks like a widening project on I-65 extending south of the Kentucky state line is coming along nicely. Are there any plans to widen the entire route on to Nashville?

[codyg1985]

Looks like a widening project on I-65 extending south of the Kentucky state line is coming along nicely. Are there any plans to widen the entire route on to Nashville?

Yes, the plan is to eventually widen it all the way to Nashville. Here is TDOT's page that talks more about it.

[wriddle082]

Looks like a widening project on I-65 extending south of the Kentucky state line is coming along nicely. Are there any plans to widen the entire route on to Nashville?

Yes, the plan is to eventually widen it all the way to Nashville. Here is TDOT's page that talks more about it.

And not a moment too soon!

The section between Exits 98 and 104 is going to be pure hell from a construction and traffic standpoint.  The strong crosswinds issue already causes wrecks going southbound down the hill, but the prospect of cattle chutes and blasting will make things even worse.  Once this section starts construction, I'd do everything in my power to try every single alternate route that exists.  The best probably being cutting over to the west to US 41 and taking that down to US 31W and re-entering I-65 at Exit 98.  The routes leading to 41 are all two lanes, but 41 itself is a nice four lanes with center left turn lane constructed in the late 80's/early 90's.

[ITB]

Yesterday, March 30th, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a large $3.3 billion transportation bill. It now goes to Governor Bill Lee for his signature.

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/news/2023/3/30/tn-general-assembly-passes-gov--lee-s-landmark-transportation-bill.html

Here's a bit more about the bill:

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/build-with-us/2023%20Transportation%20Modernization%20Act%20one-pager.pdf

One of the pertinent sections of the above is as follows:

"The proposed Transportation Modernization Act will provide the state with innovative tools to address traffic congestion, especially in our urban areas, freeing up additional dollars to invest in our rural and suburban communities, all without raising the gas tax or taking on transportation debt."

Hmm. OK. Looks like TDOT will be pursing 3P projects for the construction of additional interstates lanes, which they will call "Choice Lanes." Also, they will be taking a hard look at how to address "parity" between electric and hybrid vehicles and combustion engine vehicles, in terms of each contributing a fair share to road and infrastructure costs. This seems to imply a fee of some sorts will be applied to electric and hybrid vehicles.

[Plutonic Panda]

Whatever they do they need to show Memphis some love and replace the bridges and upgrade Lamar Ave.

[codyg1985]

Looks like the bill got broad support. I wonder what exactly this looks like out there in the coming years.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Tennessee will soon be adding congestion-based toll lanes.

https://www.governing.com/community/highway-congestion-toll-lanes-tennessee

[The Ghostbuster]

Where might the toll lanes be constructed first? I would imagine either in Memphis or Nashville, since they may not be needed in Knoxville or Chattanooga.

[MikeTheActuary]

Assuming tolling of the Lexus lanes is backed up by cameras, I wonder if the state legislature will remember they have this law on the books:  https://casetext.com/statute/tennessee-code/title-55-motor-and-other-vehicles/chapter-8-operation-of-vehicles-rules-of-the-road/part-1-operation-of-vehicles-rules-of-the-road/section-55-8-198-citations-based-on-unmanned-traffic-enforcement-cameras

(Currently, there's no practical consequence for ignoring tickets issued because of red light or speed cameras in TN.)