News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

Tennessee

Started by FLRoads, January 20, 2009, 11:51:22 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

NE2

Tennesseeing is Tennederping.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".


Tom958

#201
Something I noticed when I was driving between Nashville and Atlanta in 2012...

(Actually, I noticed a lot. IMO, Tennessee is a great roadgeeking state!)

Like most states, Tennessee adds loop ramps at some service interchanges that would otherwise be diamonds. At first they seemed random to me, or at least driven by location specific criteria as opposed to policy reasons. Nothing unusual about that. But eventually I realized that around Nashville there was something of a pattern: often there was one loop offramp in the away-from-Nashville direction. Why? Eventually I realized that by putting that ramp in, they were able to defer installation of a traffic signal for many years, since the loop ramp removed the need for one for outbound left turns off the freeway and left turn volumes off the intersecting road onto the outbound freeway were light enough not to require one. Sure enough:

I-24 at Waldron Road: signal
I-24 at Sam Ridley Parkway: no signal
I-24 at US 231: no signal
I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway: no signal, but it's too new to really count
I-40 at Donelson Pike, no signal
I-40 at S Mt Juliet Road, signal
There's one in Memphis, too, I-40 at Appling Road: no signal

So, even not counting I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway, that's a 71% success rate. Not bad at all.  :clap:

Grzrd

Quote from: Grzrd on October 26, 2013, 09:52:44 PM
This TDOT press release
Quote
The new welcome center will be located at mile marker 5, and is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2014

The I-26 Kingsport/ Sullivan County Welcome Center's website indicates that opening is now scheduled for Fall 2014.

Grzrd

TDOT has posted the Final Schedule for the Region 2 Bus Tour during which Commissioner Schroer will review various ongoing projects with local officials from June 23 to June 25.

Henry

Quote from: Grzrd on June 09, 2014, 02:26:53 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 26, 2013, 09:52:44 PM
This TDOT press release
Quote
The new welcome center will be located at mile marker 5, and is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2014

The I-26 Kingsport/ Sullivan County Welcome Center's website indicates that opening is now scheduled for Fall 2014.

Quote from: Tom958 on March 28, 2014, 07:09:12 AM
Something I noticed when I was driving between Nashville and Atlanta in 2012...

(Actually, I noticed a lot. IMO, Tennessee is a great roadgeeking state!)

Like most states, Tennessee adds loop ramps at some service interchanges that would otherwise be diamonds. At first they seemed random to me, or at least driven by location specific criteria as opposed to policy reasons. Nothing unusual about that. But eventually I realized that around Nashville there was something of a pattern: often there was one loop offramp in the away-from-Nashville direction. Why? Eventually I realized that by putting that ramp in, they were able to defer installation of a traffic signal for many years, since the loop ramp removed the need for one for outbound left turns off the freeway and left turn volumes off the intersecting road onto the outbound freeway were light enough not to require one. Sure enough:

I-24 at Waldron Road: signal
I-24 at Sam Ridley Parkway: no signal
I-24 at US 231: no signal
I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway: no signal, but it's too new to really count
I-40 at Donelson Pike, no signal
I-40 at S Mt Juliet Road, signal
There's one in Memphis, too, I-40 at Appling Road: no signal

So, even not counting I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway, that's a 71% success rate. Not bad at all.  :clap:
Without a doubt, TN has further helped its case as the best roadgeeking state in the nation.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Avalanchez71

Quote from: Henry on June 20, 2014, 03:01:33 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on June 09, 2014, 02:26:53 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 26, 2013, 09:52:44 PM
This TDOT press release
Quote
The new welcome center will be located at mile marker 5, and is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2014

The I-26 Kingsport/ Sullivan County Welcome Center's website indicates that opening is now scheduled for Fall 2014.

Quote from: Tom958 on March 28, 2014, 07:09:12 AM
Something I noticed when I was driving between Nashville and Atlanta in 2012...

(Actually, I noticed a lot. IMO, Tennessee is a great roadgeeking state!)

Like most states, Tennessee adds loop ramps at some service interchanges that would otherwise be diamonds. At first they seemed random to me, or at least driven by location specific criteria as opposed to policy reasons. Nothing unusual about that. But eventually I realized that around Nashville there was something of a pattern: often there was one loop offramp in the away-from-Nashville direction. Why? Eventually I realized that by putting that ramp in, they were able to defer installation of a traffic signal for many years, since the loop ramp removed the need for one for outbound left turns off the freeway and left turn volumes off the intersecting road onto the outbound freeway were light enough not to require one. Sure enough:

I-24 at Waldron Road: signal
I-24 at Sam Ridley Parkway: no signal
I-24 at US 231: no signal
I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway: no signal, but it's too new to really count
I-40 at Donelson Pike, no signal
I-40 at S Mt Juliet Road, signal
There's one in Memphis, too, I-40 at Appling Road: no signal

So, even not counting I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway, that's a 71% success rate. Not bad at all.  :clap:
Without a doubt, TN has further helped its case as the best roadgeeking state in the nation.
Notwithstanding the previous what makes Tennessee a premier roadgeeking state?

freebrickproductions

Oak Ridge, TN has had some Flashing Yellow Arrow signals installed.
My friend told me this because he's currently up in TN visiting his grandparents that live up there.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

freebrickproductions

Quote from: freebrickproductions on June 20, 2014, 06:36:31 PM
Oak Ridge, TN has had some Flashing Yellow Arrow signals installed.
My friend told me this because he's currently up in TN visiting his grandparents that live up there.
Here they are on street view.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Tom958

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 20, 2014, 05:30:11 PM
Notwithstanding the previous what makes Tennessee a premier roadgeeking state?

In a word: variety. For instance, in travelling I-24 westward from Chattanooga as far as Monteagle, I noticed that virtually every bridge is different, even the ones that were built at about the same time. Once across the mountain and US 64, they settled on one type of bridge for a while, but after a few miles they increased the median from 60 feet to 100, as though they couldn't stand the uniformity. A while later, another bridge design. Finally, on the newest part approaching Nashville, a very wide median spanned by alternating (more or less) concrete box girders and those funky steel beams that incorporate the center pier (there's probably a term for that type, but I don't know what it is), both with immensely long spans.

Most other states take a much more uniform and boring approach. Tennessee mixes things up, which I appreciate, admire, and find fascinating.


adventurernumber1

Quote from: Avalanchez71 on June 20, 2014, 05:30:11 PM
Quote from: Henry on June 20, 2014, 03:01:33 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on June 09, 2014, 02:26:53 PM
Quote from: Grzrd on October 26, 2013, 09:52:44 PM
This TDOT press release
Quote
The new welcome center will be located at mile marker 5, and is expected to open to the public in the summer of 2014

The I-26 Kingsport/ Sullivan County Welcome Center's website indicates that opening is now scheduled for Fall 2014.

Quote from: Tom958 on March 28, 2014, 07:09:12 AM
Something I noticed when I was driving between Nashville and Atlanta in 2012...

(Actually, I noticed a lot. IMO, Tennessee is a great roadgeeking state!)

Like most states, Tennessee adds loop ramps at some service interchanges that would otherwise be diamonds. At first they seemed random to me, or at least driven by location specific criteria as opposed to policy reasons. Nothing unusual about that. But eventually I realized that around Nashville there was something of a pattern: often there was one loop offramp in the away-from-Nashville direction. Why? Eventually I realized that by putting that ramp in, they were able to defer installation of a traffic signal for many years, since the loop ramp removed the need for one for outbound left turns off the freeway and left turn volumes off the intersecting road onto the outbound freeway were light enough not to require one. Sure enough:

I-24 at Waldron Road: signal
I-24 at Sam Ridley Parkway: no signal
I-24 at US 231: no signal
I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway: no signal, but it's too new to really count
I-40 at Donelson Pike, no signal
I-40 at S Mt Juliet Road, signal
There's one in Memphis, too, I-40 at Appling Road: no signal

So, even not counting I-24 at Joe Jackson Parkway, that's a 71% success rate. Not bad at all.  :clap:
Without a doubt, TN has further helped its case as the best roadgeeking state in the nation.
Notwithstanding the previous what makes Tennessee a premier roadgeeking state?

Not to mention Tennessee has so many different environments as well. You have the Mississippi River Coastal Plain in the west, along with farms and woods, you have the piedmont and hills in central Tennessee near Nashville, then you have the plateaus and ridges east of that, and then there are plenty more valleys and mountains until you get to the breathtaking Appalachians. And of course you have several large cities, some having some beautiful suburbs.
Now alternating between different highway shields for my avatar - my previous highway shield avatar for the last few years was US 76.

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127322363@N08/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-vJ3qa8R-cc44Cv6ohio1g

Tom958

Quote from: adventurernumber1 on August 19, 2014, 12:53:59 AMNot to mention Tennessee has so many different environments as well. You have the Mississippi River Coastal Plain in the west, along with farms and woods, you have the piedmont and hills in central Tennessee near Nashville, then you have the plateaus and ridges east of that, and then there are plenty more valleys and mountains until you get to the breathtaking Appalachians. And of course you have several large cities, some having some beautiful suburbs.

Well, you could say that about many states. To me, it's not so much the diversity of the landscape as much as its raw beauty-- and the dramatic settings it provides for many of the state's highways.

Another big plus for me is the way that pine trees abruptly cease to exist once I cross into Tennessee from Georgia. I freaking hate pine trees. 

codyg1985

TDOT is considering closing the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River for two years while the Crump Blvd interchange is rebuilt: http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/26740818/tdot-leaders-consider-shutting-down-old-i-55-bridge-for-two-years
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

hbelkins

This is the kind of closure that needs to be heavily promoted from great distances in other states. For instance, diverting thru I-55 traffic at I-155 and into Tennessee there, then taking US 51 south to reconnect with I-55 south of Memphis.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Tom958

It's odd that the story didn't mention any particular reason to close the bridge, though I can speculate as to several. One thing's for sure, though: If the bridge needs to be closed for maintenance for an extended period, while that interchange is under construction would be a good time to do it.

lordsutch

Quote from: Tom958 on October 10, 2014, 07:15:10 PM
It's odd that the story didn't mention any particular reason to close the bridge, though I can speculate as to several. One thing's for sure, though: If the bridge needs to be closed for maintenance for an extended period, while that interchange is under construction would be a good time to do it.

The redesigned interchange looks to be very hard to construct while maintaining through traffic because it's such a radical departure from what's in place now.

Honestly, though, if they're going to close the existing bridge for two years they should scrape together the money to replace it with something up to modern standards, or get the oft-mooted third bridge built first. As-is the thing's going to fall in the river whenever a real earthquake hits anyway.

All that said if they ever get done with the seismic retrofit on the "new bridge" it has plenty of excess capacity when all six lanes are open. The only real bottleneck remaining is the short section of two lanes each way on the Memphis side.

codyg1985

A few updates on some Chattanooga-area projects after passing through today.
- The US 27 rebuild north of the Olgiati Bridge looks to be close to being finished. Looks like a few smaller retaining walls, paving work, jersey barriers, and signage is about all that it needs to be finished. I'd expect this to be wrapped up by April or May of next year, at the latest.
- The new US 41/64/72 bridge over the Tennessee River is not yet open to traffic, but the bridge itself appears to be finished. The east approach looks to need one or two more layers of asphalt. I am not sure about the west approach. I expect this to be done maybe in the next month or so.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

Gnutella

Quote from: Tom958 on August 24, 2014, 10:00:01 AM
Quote from: adventurernumber1 on August 19, 2014, 12:53:59 AMNot to mention Tennessee has so many different environments as well. You have the Mississippi River Coastal Plain in the west, along with farms and woods, you have the piedmont and hills in central Tennessee near Nashville, then you have the plateaus and ridges east of that, and then there are plenty more valleys and mountains until you get to the breathtaking Appalachians. And of course you have several large cities, some having some beautiful suburbs.

Well, you could say that about many states. To me, it's not so much the diversity of the landscape as much as its raw beauty-- and the dramatic settings it provides for many of the state's highways.

Another big plus for me is the way that pine trees abruptly cease to exist once I cross into Tennessee from Georgia. I freaking hate pine trees. 

Pine trees are limited mainly to the Piedmont and the coastal plains of the South. Once you get into the Appalachians, the trees become markedly more deciduous. In fact, I remember when I went to Brasstown Bald and vicinity a couple of years ago, I said to myself that the flora and fauna reminded me a lot of Pennsylvania. I think it's more difficult for large trees to grow in the rocky Appalachian soil, and the composition of the dirt might be a factor too.

I've also driven extensively through Tennessee, and to me it basically felt like Pennsylvania with a newer highway system.

hbelkins

We have our share of deciduous trees, but we've got plenty of pine trees in Kentucky, too.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

freebrickproductions

According to my friend, the FYA signal in Oak Ridge, TN has a Dallas Phase set-up on it.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

Grzrd

Due to uncertainties associated with federal funding, TDOT Commissioner Schroer has delayed several projects, including construction of the I-55/Crump Boulevard interchange and ROW acquisition on the Lamar Corridor.  Here is a list of the projects delayed from FY 2015 to FY 2106 and a letter from Schroer to the Tennessee General Assembly explaining his decision.

It looks like projects in Tennessee will continue to be delayed until the U.S. Congress enacts the next multi-year reauthorization.

SSF

The US 41/64/72 bridge is open over the Tennessee River and is an unremarkable 2 lane bridge to say the least.  The new bridge was nearly as tall as the top of the truss on the old bridge though, so the clearance underneath must be vastly improved.

codyg1985

TDOT plans for a retaining wall project at the TN 60/I-75 interchange has some erroneous signage plans that I'm surprised made it through the QA phase:



However, the signage schedule has the correct shields for I-75. I suspect that maybe the signs will be ordered per the schedule.



Perhaps this may be taken care of with an RFI, but who knows what signs will end up showing up in the field?
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

Brian556

Heck, in Texas, an erroneous FM 377 sign was posted on US 377, as specified in the plans. Nobody who looked at the plans ever noticed it.

CYoder

The welcome center on I-26 in Kingsport opened on Tuesday:

Kingsport's new interstate welcome center is now open for business
http://www.timesnews.net/article/9083056/kingsports-new-interstate-welcome-center-in-now-open-for-business

Passed by Monday to check on progress... figures.  I will try to get some pictures in the next week or so.

codyg1985

#224
TDOT has applied for and has been approved to extend US 641 south from I-40 to US 64 at the Special AASHTO Committee on U. S. Route Numbering: http://route.transportation.org/Documents/USRN%20Report%20to%20SCOH%20AM2014.pdf

EDIT: I forgot to see there is a thread on the meeting: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14014.50
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.