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[Grzrd]

Is Tennessee still considering building portions of Interstate 69 as a toll road?

I'm not sure if I've heard of Tennessee building it as a toll road. It would be incredibly easy to shunpike it if only the new segments were built as a toll road, though.

This post quotes an article as indicating that traffic studies concluded that I-69 would not generate enough traffic to support tolls:

This article reports that traffic studies have indicated that I-69 would not generate enough traffic to support tolls:

State Rep. Bill Sanderson addressed approximately 75 residents .... Dyersburg Alderman Bob Kirk .... asked if there was a possibility of installing a toll road to generate revenue for the corridor. Sanderson responded that Schroer previously had addressed the use of toll roads to fund I-69. However, traffic studies indicated that there would not be enough traffic to generate the required revenue.

TDOT has posted its Fiscal Years 2016 - 2018 Proposed Comprehensive Multimodal Program and construction for the 4.9 mile project from west of TN 21 to US 51 has been pushed back to FY 2018:

It sure would be nice to have a long-term reauthorization to help TDOT fulfill Commissioner Schroer's commitment to finish I-69 SIU 7 in approximately ten years.

In a mild surprise since Congress only approved a two-month funding patch through July 31 instead of a long-term reauthorization, TDOT has announced that it will have a letting for the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project this year:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation says they will have a contract letting for construction on a portion of I-69 in northwest Tennessee will begin this year.
T-DOT Spokeswoman Nichole Lawrence said funding is secured for grade and drainage construction along a section of the planned route between US-51 and State Route 5 near Union City.

Maybe they will get I-69 SIU 7 done within ten years .......

Even though TDOT did not let the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project in 2015, TDOT now dangles the possibility, on its I-69 Segment 7 Status page, that both that project and the 4.9 mile project from west of TN 21 to US 51 will be let in 2016:



Two I-69 lettings in one calendar year would be remarkable and would help the effort to complete SIU 7 within a decade.

[thefro]

Good news.... would be a very positive sign if they can let both projects.

[Grzrd]

In a mild surprise since Congress only approved a two-month funding patch through July 31 instead of a long-term reauthorization, TDOT has announced that it will have a letting for the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project this year

Even though TDOT did not let the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project in 2015, TDOT now dangles the possibility, on its I-69 Segment 7 Status page, that both that project and the 4.9 mile project from west of TN 21 to US 51 will be let in 2016:

Consistent with its information on the I-69 Segment 7 Status page, TDOT has posted the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project on its February 12, 2016 Letting page:



Allowing approximately 3.5 years to complete a grading and structures project by October 31, 2019 seems like an unnecessarily long period of time to do so.

[Grzrd]

Consistent with its information on the I-69 Segment 7 Status page, TDOT has posted the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project on its February 12, 2016 Letting page:

Alas, the above project, Call No. 070, does not appear on the Apparent Low Bids for Letting of February 12, 2016 page. The wait continues ............


As a side note, TDOT has revised its I-69 pages and now has a Segment 7 Timeline page with the following information:

This October 5 article, which includes four slides depicting what the I-55/69 Welcome Center will look like, reports that the construction permit was obtained on October 2

This January 13, 2016 article and video provides an update on the I-55/69 "net zero energy" welcome center construction:

Construction workers said they started on it about three months ago and they are about a month behind. It should be completed sometime this spring.
Once finished, it will be the state's first net zero energy building, meaning it is supposed to generate more energy than it will use in a year.

[Grzrd]

Consistent with its information on the I-69 Segment 7 Status page, TDOT has posted the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project on its February 12, 2016 Letting page:

Alas, the above project, Call No. 070, does not appear on the Apparent Low Bids for Letting of February 12, 2016 page. The wait continues ............

But apparently not for long. The project appears on a March 4 Special Letting as the only project (Call No. 001):



Maybe TDOT is serious about continuing with SIU 7 .......

[rte66man]

Consistent with its information on the I-69 Segment 7 Status page, TDOT has posted the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project on its February 12, 2016 Letting page:

Alas, the above project, Call No. 070, does not appear on the Apparent Low Bids for Letting of February 12, 2016 page. The wait continues ............

But apparently not for long. The project appears on a March 4 Special Letting as the only project (Call No. 001):



Maybe TDOT is serious about continuing with SIU 7 .......

I would hope so.  As already mentioned, this is the section of I69 that needs to have the highest priority.  Connect Fulton to Dyersburg and you have an all-interstate connection to Memphis.  And I suspect that most of the SB traffic is headed west on 40 anyway.

[brycecordry]

I would hope so.  As already mentioned, this is the section of I69 that needs to have the highest priority.  Connect Fulton to Dyersburg and you have an all-interstate connection to Memphis.  And I suspect that most of the SB traffic is headed west on 40 anyway.

Perhaps what they can do, to alleviate the high cost and inconvenience to the residents is continue I-69 west, across the Mississippi on the Caruthersville Bridge, across on an 8-10 mile-long connector between I-155 and I-55, then extend it down I-55 into Arkansas. Add a brief concurrency with I-40 west and then down back across the Mississippi to rejoin the existing alignment in Mississippi. This would require much less construction than the US 51 plan, and even though it would require another river crossing, it would still cost less due to all the property and outer roads they would have to build. I have drafted it up on this link to view. LINK https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oBkHGBQhnA28NLRgwmksaYwuhc0&usp=sharing

[lordsutch]

Perhaps what they can do, to alleviate the high cost and inconvenience to the residents is continue I-69 west, across the Mississippi on the Caruthersville Bridge, across on an 8-10 mile-long connector between I-155 and I-55, then extend it down I-55 into Arkansas. Add a brief concurrency with I-40 west and then down back across the Mississippi to rejoin the existing alignment in Mississippi. This would require much less construction than the US 51 plan, and even though it would require another river crossing, it would still cost less due to all the property and outer roads they would have to build. I have drafted it up on this link to view. LINK https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oBkHGBQhnA28NLRgwmksaYwuhc0&usp=sharing

What inconvenience to residents? South of I-155, it's almost entirely a new terrain routing over farmland. Even the section between north Memphis and Millington avoids significant development. Besides which, as mentioned above, a bypass of US 51 from Memphis north to at least Covington is already needed; recently-widened TN 14 relieves some traffic but really only helps with the section from Millington through Atoka.

[brycecordry]

What inconvenience to residents? South of I-155, it's almost entirely a new terrain routing over farmland. Even the section between north Memphis and Millington avoids significant development. Besides which, as mentioned above, a bypass of US 51 from Memphis north to at least Covington is already needed; recently-widened TN 14 relieves some traffic but really only helps with the section from Millington through Atoka.

I guess it would be less of an inconvenience to the residents and more of the fact that my proposal would greatly reduce the number of new miles needed to be constructed (instead putting them onto existing freeway). Furthermore with the new bridge people could bypass Memphis, even if still wanting to go on I-55 (I-69 to I-269 back to I-55)

As for the traffic issue, they can easily extend the beltway around, back to I-55/69 in Arkansas, and if they really want the routing of I-69, they can always complete the road and name it something like I-340.

I just believe that the proposed I-69 between Dyersburg and Memphis is just simply Too Close To I-55 to be of national use.

[Wayward Memphian]

What inconvenience to residents? South of I-155, it's almost entirely a new terrain routing over farmland. Even the section between north Memphis and Millington avoids significant development. Besides which, as mentioned above, a bypass of US 51 from Memphis north to at least Covington is already needed; recently-widened TN 14 relieves some traffic but really only helps with the section from Millington through Atoka.

I guess it would be less of an inconvenience to the residents and more of the fact that my proposal would greatly reduce the number of new miles needed to be constructed (instead putting them onto existing freeway). Furthermore with the new bridge people could bypass Memphis, even if still wanting to go on I-55 (I-69 to I-269 back to I-55)

As for the traffic issue, they can easily extend the beltway around, back to I-55/69 in Arkansas, and if they really want the routing of I-69, they can always complete the road and name it something like I-340.

I just believe that the proposed I-69 between Dyersburg and Memphis is just simply Too Close To I-55 to be of national use.

I would love to see new northern and southern bridges that would in effect make a complete loop around Memphis using  TN385/I-269. What you don't get is redundancy in this area way lacking considering the ever present New Madrid fault line. I-40 in Arkansas is stressed enough. I would gladly trade you the Memphis/LR leg for the stretch of I-70 between STL and KC.  We need more 4 lane limited access roads in this country, period. Memphis needs all the spokes it can get due to it's role as a giant distribution hub. Folks outside of the area just have no understanding how big of a hub it is. 

[Grzrd]

The project appears on a March 4 Special Letting as the only project (Call No. 001)

TDOT has posted the Contract Award for the project, with the winning bid coming in slightly under the estimate:



Here is a snip of a project map from the Plans (p. 1/603 of pdf):

This TDOT press release announces the release, by Gov. Haslam, of ...currently backlogged projects ...

Here is a snip of the I-240/69 project from the backlogged project list:

FWIW, TDOT now includes the above I-240/69 project, in addition to the four Memphis new terrain SIU 9 projects, on its Segment 9 Timeline page:



Maybe TDOT is anticipating (hoping?) that some sort of federal dedicated funding for I-69 projects will emerge in the next few years.

[lordsutch]

More likely now that 385 and the 40/240 interchanges are (mostly) done, the I-69 projects are in the next cluster of big-ticket projects in Memphis after the I-55/Riverside/Crump reconstruction and Walnut Grove/Kirby-Whitten in Shelby Farms. I don't see any new earmarked money coming anytime soon for anything.

[Wayward Memphian]

Consistent with its information on the I-69 Segment 7 Status page, TDOT has posted the south of US 51 to south of TN 5 project on its February 12, 2016 Letting page:

Alas, the above project, Call No. 070, does not appear on the Apparent Low Bids for Letting of February 12, 2016 page. The wait continues ............

But apparently not for long. The project appears on a March 4 Special Letting as the only project (Call No. 001):



Maybe TDOT is serious about continuing with SIU 7 .......

I would hope so.  As already mentioned, this is the section of I69 that needs to have the highest priority.  Connect Fulton to Dyersburg and you have an all-interstate connection to Memphis.  And I suspect that most of the SB traffic is headed west on 40 anyway.

Nashville/Haslem wants to get busy getting folks to that new Megasite just east of Arlington. They tout it as being big enough for multiple superprojects. Adding road infrastructure in the area helps that along. I even had a friend in Nashville that works at the Capitol say they would be willing to build a runway if it meant landing an plane assembly line. It's all about legacy building time in Nashville.

Get I-69 helps the PR machine. It's missing on this puffpiece, bet they want to add it

[Grzrd]

This TDOT press release announces the release, by Gov. Haslam, of ...currently backlogged projects ...

This article:

Projects related to I-69 account for $423 million of the TDOT backlog: ... $50 million to extend I-69 along the I-240 Midtown leg ...

Here is a snip of the I-240/69 project from the backlogged project list:

TDOT now includes the above I-240/69 project, in addition to the four Memphis new terrain SIU 9 projects, on its Segment 9 Timeline page:

Although it does not appear in TDOT's Shelby County listing in the Proposed Fiscal Years 2017-2019 Comprehensive Multimodal Program, $1 million (combined federal and state funding) in estimated FY 2019 ROW acquisition costs for the above I-240/69 project does appear in the the Memphis MPO's FY 2017-20 TIP Project List that will be presented to its Transportation Policy Board for approval on May 5 (p. 1/8 of pdf):


....


Maybe the Memphis MPO wants to include this I-69 project in the TIP in order to help establish a priority for the time if and when Gov. Haslam and Commissioner Schroer persuade the Tennessee legislature to increase state-level funding for transportation.

[lordsutch]

Although it does not appear in TDOT's Shelby County listing in the Proposed Fiscal Years 2017-2019 Comprehensive Multimodal Program, $1 million (combined federal and state funding) in estimated ROW acquisition costs for the above I-240/69 project does appear in the the Memphis MPO's FY 2017-20 TIP Project List that will be presented to its Transportation Policy Board for approval on May 5 (p. 1/8 of pdf):


....


Maybe the Memphis MPO wants to include this I-69 project in the TIP in order to help establish a priority for the time if and when Gov. Haslam and Commissioner Schroer persuade the Tennessee legislature to increase state-level funding for transportation.

I went to a public meeting on this project about a decade ago. Basically the project is to widen Midtown I-240 between I-55 and I-40 from 6 to 8 through lanes; most of the work was originally planned in the current ROW by narrowing the inner shoulders and using 11-foot lanes, hence the low ROW acquisition costs. (I think I suggested using 10' inner lanes and keeping 12' outer lanes and limiting trucks to the two right-hand lanes.) I believe TDOT also planned to remove some of the loop ramps at the South Parkway cloverleaf. If I recall correctly, there are also some bridge clearance issues that may or may not be resolved too.

[Grzrd]

After seeing the state line work included in Kentucky's Recommended Plan, I emailed TDOT and asked for an update of the situation on their side of the state line.
My question:

I recently noticed that KYTC has included an I-69 TN/KY state line project in its 2014 Recommended Highway Plan (page 43):
http://transportation.ky.gov/Program-Management/Highway%20Plan/2014RecommendedProjectListing.pdf
With the above project in mind, I assume that TDOT has committed to remaining on the US 51 corridor in that area and upgrading the current interchange in that area.  Is that a safe assumption? If so, has TDOT finalized plans on how to upgrade the US 45E interchange to meet current interstate standards?

The response:

I want to thank you for contacting our office about the I-69 project in Obion County.  You ask about the corridor for the section of I-68 [sic] from Union City to the Kentucky line.  This section will follow existing US 51 to the Kentucky Purchase Parkway.  Kentucky is currently work [sic] TDOT on the completion of the environmental reevaluation at the Kentucky line.   The Final Environmental Impact Statement did not identify the connector to the Purchase Parkway so the document has to be reevaluated to include the connector to the Purchase Parkway. 
TDOT has not started developing plans on the upgrade to US 45 E  or US 51.

At least they are doing some preliminary environmental work on the connection.

This TDOT press release announces the release, by Gov. Haslam, of two highway project lists: (a) currently backlogged projects, and (b) new projects, as part of his public relations campaign to identify increased transportation funding in Tennessee ....
In a bit of a disappointment, the state line connection to Kentucky is considered a "new" project that cannot currently be considered until 2022, at the earliest:

TDOT held a December 3, 2015 Public Meeting about the connection to Kentucky, during which two alternative alignments were presented:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), in association with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), will host a Public Information Meeting on Thursday, December 3, 2015, in the Community Room of South Fulton City Hall, 700 Milton Counce Drive, South Fulton, TN 38257, to discuss one segment of the proposed Interstate 69 (Corridor 18) Segment of Independent Utility 7, which begins at the U.S. 412/U.S 51 interchange in Dyer County, Tennessee, and ends at the Purchase Parkway in Fulton County, Kentucky (map). The focus of the public meeting is the segment of the project that extends from U.S. 51 near Rogers Road in Obion County, Tennessee, to the Purchase Parkway near U.S. 51/U.S. 45E in Fulton County, Kentucky.  The length of this segment is approximately 3.2 miles.  Two alignment alternatives will be presented at the public meeting for this segment. Alternative 1 would bypass South Fulton, Tennessee and Fulton, Kentucky to the west, and generally follows the original alignment studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  Alternative 2 generally follows existing U.S. 51 in Tennessee and Purchase Parkway (U.S. 51 Bypass) in Kentucky.  Alternative 2 would require the reconstruction of the U.S. 51/U.S. 45E interchange as well as other system improvements ....
At the time of the approval of the Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2002, based on public comments, TDOT and KYTC agreed to defer the environmental analysis and alignment studies for the segment from U.S. 51 near Rogers Road in Tennessee into Fulton County, Kentucky until the KYTC was ready to address the project.  This meeting will request public input on the project and recently proposed alignment alternatives for this segment.

A Transcript of the meeting provides some clarification about the two alternatives resulting from questions by attendees.

[lordsutch]

TDOT held a December 3, 2015 Public Meeting about the connection to Kentucky, during which two alternative alignments were presented:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), in association with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), will host a Public Information Meeting on Thursday, December 3, 2015, in the Community Room of South Fulton City Hall, 700 Milton Counce Drive, South Fulton, TN 38257, to discuss one segment of the proposed Interstate 69 (Corridor 18) Segment of Independent Utility 7, which begins at the U.S. 412/U.S 51 interchange in Dyer County, Tennessee, and ends at the Purchase Parkway in Fulton County, Kentucky (map). The focus of the public meeting is the segment of the project that extends from U.S. 51 near Rogers Road in Obion County, Tennessee, to the Purchase Parkway near U.S. 51/U.S. 45E in Fulton County, Kentucky.  The length of this segment is approximately 3.2 miles.  Two alignment alternatives will be presented at the public meeting for this segment. Alternative 1 would bypass South Fulton, Tennessee and Fulton, Kentucky to the west, and generally follows the original alignment studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  Alternative 2 generally follows existing U.S. 51 in Tennessee and Purchase Parkway (U.S. 51 Bypass) in Kentucky.  Alternative 2 would require the reconstruction of the U.S. 51/U.S. 45E interchange as well as other system improvements ....
At the time of the approval of the Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2002, based on public comments, TDOT and KYTC agreed to defer the environmental analysis and alignment studies for the segment from U.S. 51 near Rogers Road in Tennessee into Fulton County, Kentucky until the KYTC was ready to address the project.  This meeting will request public input on the project and recently proposed alignment alternatives for this segment.

A Transcript of the meeting provides some clarification about the two alternatives resulting from questions by attendees.

Nice find. It'd be nice if TDOT or KYTC had posted the meeting exhibits on the website, since the thumbnail map in the notice was really low-scale.

[rte66man]

A Transcript of the meeting provides some clarification about the two alternatives resulting from questions by attendees.

Also from the transcript:
We believe that it's an important connector to get this built and getit around Union City and back onto 51 so that it basically shows some interstate continuity from, in
essence, Caruthersville, Missouri, all the way through Dyersburg, and up through Kentucky and through here. That is a connection that's a useable interstate
connector at that point, even without being built all the way straight through Tennessee to Memphis. 

I'm glad to see that TDOT recognizes that SIU7 should have the highest priority.

[Grzrd]

An excuse to go up the elevator at Discovery Park again in a couple of years for more photos...

TDOT has posted the Contract Award for the project

I'm glad to see that TDOT recognizes that SIU7 should have the highest priority.

This May 20 video reports that construction from State Route 3 to State Route 5 should begin within the next thirty days (and be completed in 2019), which is apparently good news to the folks at Discovery Park:

After years of delays, progress is being made on a major route you will eventually be able to take. A second segment of the new Interstate 69 in Union City, Tennessee, will begin in the next 30 days.
It's being build in different segments. The first was built a few years ago from State Route 5 to west of State Route 21.
Next month, construction begins on the second segment from State Route 3 to State Route 5. The final segment will connect the interstate to U.S. 51, which goes into Kentucky. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is still waiting for the funding to begin the third portion ....
Discovery Park CEO Jim Rippy says a new interstate could someday bring even more families to the area.
"It should increase our attendance dramatically, because the whole design was made to work with the interstate," Rippy said.
He says it felt like the project has been slowing down for the last six years or so, so the construction of the $50 million, 2-mile segment gives him hope the project will be completed.
"I can't wait to ride on it. I just want to get on it, and say it's finished," he said ....
Work on this part of the project is expected to be completed in 2019.

[thefro]

Looks like there's going to be a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new section

http://wkms.org/post/tenn-transportation-officials-host-groundbreaking-i-69#stream/0

[thefro]

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/story/32168462/work-begins-on-section-of-new-interstate-in-union-city
http://www.wbbjtv.com/2016/06/07/state-breaks-ground-on-phase-2-of-i-69/

Couple videos with footage from the groundbreaking above.

[Grzrd]

A Transcript of the meeting provides some clarification about the two alternatives resulting from questions by attendees.
Also from the transcript:
We believe that it's an important connector to get this built and getit around Union City and back onto 51 so that it basically shows some interstate continuity from, in
essence, Caruthersville, Missouri, all the way through Dyersburg, and up through Kentucky and through here. That is a connection that's a useable interstate
connector at that point, even without being built all the way straight through Tennessee to Memphis. 

I'm glad to see that TDOT recognizes that SIU7 should have the highest priority.

This article confirms that SIU 7 is the highest priority, with TDOT committed to completing it, but SIU 8 is still in the deep freeze:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation, which had halted the interstate work because of a lack of federal funding, has decided to complete an approximately 45-mile portion of I-69 running from the Kentucky line to Dyersburg. There it will connect with I-155, a spur that crosses the Mississippi River and extends to I-55 near Hayti, Missouri.
The remaining portions of the planned I-69 route through West Tennessee, including parts in Lauderdale, Tipton and Shelby counties, will "continue to be in a held status until there is dedicated federal funding," TDOT spokeswoman Nichole Lawrence said in an email.
Construction on the interstate resumed in the Union City area this summer after department officials determined "there would be value" in finishing just enough of I-69 to link it to I-55, a major north-south route that runs through Memphis, Lawrence said. "The long-term goal would be to establish interstate connectivity." ....
In 2012, after years of planning, right-of-way acquisition and some initial construction, TDOT officials said they were putting the I-69 project on hold until the federal government dedicated more money to it. Without dedicated federal funds, which generally cover 80-90 percent of the cost of building an interstate, the state would have to divert precious federal highway construction dollars from other projects across Tennessee to pay for I-69, they said.
However, Lawrence said the department recently decided it made sense to build the more limited I-69 route in Northwest Tennessee.
In Union City, located 115 miles northeast of Memphis, the $46.3 million segment now under construction covers 2.87 miles from Tenn. 5 around the west side of town to U.S. 51. Slated for completion in October 2019, it's one of five segments to be built in Obion County encompassing more than 20 miles and costing a total of $205.9 million.
Those segments will extend I-69 from the Kentucky line to south of the town of Troy, where the route will utilize a nearly 25-mile stretch of Highway 51 that needs only minimal upgrades to meet interstate standards.

[Life in Paradise]

I think that is a good and solid decision by Tennessee.  At least it gives people an option to get to Memphis on an interstate (although a bit out of the way).  Have they ever thought about getting I-69 rerouted to the Dyersburg east bypass and then go down US 412 and then split off, perhaps after Bells to connect up with I-40 to duplex into Memphis.  Don't know if US-412 is less developed, and a cheaper option to upgrade to an interstate.  At the least it would drop the mileage from about 65 miles to 40 miles of new or converted interstate.

[hbelkins]

http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article111311962.html#navlink=SecList

I was in Union City last month. There is plenty of activity just south of Union City where the route will cross existing US 51, but none where it will tie into the freeway portion of US 51.

There is absolutely nothing going on to the north and west of town. No sign whatsoever of I-69 on TN 21 heading north (signed as east) toward the state line.

[Tomahawkin]

They should make it a toll road. The money generated could fund other projects in the Memphis area and in the state of Tennessee for that matter...