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[Grzrd]

This article (with an accompanying video) reports that the I-55/69 Welcome Center is now scheduled to open in mid-Spring and that it will not be a fully net-zero building at opening

This TV video reports that the opening for the I-55/69 Welcome Center is scheduled for June 23, should anyone be traveling that way this summer:

Welcome to Tennessee. After more than three years, construction on a new welcome center is nearly completed ....
The Visitor Center has been designed to be Net-Zero Energy, meaning the building can generate more energy than it uses over the course of a year ....
The welcome center will have a help desk, family restrooms, a pet walk, and parking for big rigs and RV's ....
The welcome center officially opens June 23rd.

[Grzrd]

I recently emailed TDOT with some questions about the various projects.

First, as expected, the goal is to finish SIU 7 first:

Q: It looks like four SIU 7 projects are covered in the 3-yr. plan. Looking ahead, after the three years, is the next I-69 project scheduled to be from 1.2 miles south of SR 183 to 0.2 miles south of SR 21?
A: Yes, the goal is to complete all the sections for SIU 7 so that section will probably show up after the current three year plan.

Then, there is complicated coordination with Kentucky about the state line section:

Q: Then, it seems like the state line section would be next, if ready. Have TDOT and KYTC chosen the corridor yet?
A: The state line section will depend on when it is ready.  At this time it depends on when Kentucky will complete their environmental document and the Bi-State agreement between states on the scope of work.

Finally, the wait for a SIU 8 Record of Decison (ROD) could be a couple of years away:

Q: Finally, how is the FEIS on SIU 8 progressing? When do you expect a ROD on it?
A: I don't anticipate having a ROD until 2019 at the earliest.

[I-39]

I recently emailed TDOT with some questions about the various projects.

First, as expected, the goal is to finish SIU 7 first:

Q: It looks like four SIU 7 projects are covered in the 3-yr. plan. Looking ahead, after the three years, is the next I-69 project scheduled to be from 1.2 miles south of SR 183 to 0.2 miles south of SR 21?
A: Yes, the goal is to complete all the sections for SIU 7 so that section will probably show up after the current three year plan.

Then, there is complicated coordination with Kentucky about the state line section:

Q: Then, it seems like the state line section would be next, if ready. Have TDOT and KYTC chosen the corridor yet?
A: The state line section will depend on when it is ready.  At this time it depends on when Kentucky will complete their environmental document and the Bi-State agreement between states on the scope of work.

Finally, the wait for a SIU 8 Record of Decison (ROD) could be a couple of years away:

Q: Finally, how is the FEIS on SIU 8 progressing? When do you expect a ROD on it?
A: I don't anticipate having a ROD until 2019 at the earliest.

So the sections that are funded in the three year plan, are they going to be completed all the way and opened to traffic, or are they just grading and paving will come later (like the current situation)?

Also, are there any preliminary maps regarding what they are considering at the state line (or any info in general)?

[brycecordry]

Also, are there any preliminary maps regarding what they are considering at the state line (or any info in general)?

This is nothing official, but here is my concept. But then again state politicians always seem to create problems that are not there! :-)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1URDteA8SWyaEIyb2tEV1I1Zjg/view?usp=sharing

[codyg1985]

Also, are there any preliminary maps regarding what they are considering at the state line (or any info in general)?

This is nothing official, but here is my concept. But then again state politicians always seem to create problems that are not there! :-)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1URDteA8SWyaEIyb2tEV1I1Zjg/view?usp=sharing

That looks nice! Looks like it takes up minimal ROW

[froggie]

^ But it would run afoul of the northbound weigh station just north of the state line (and his rendering) unless he did something similar to what I did.

His is a bit more minimalist than mine, which may help with funding and construction.

[brycecordry]

^ But it would run afoul of the northbound weigh station just north of the state line (and his rendering) unless he did something similar to what I did.

His is a bit more minimalist than mine, which may help with funding and construction.

They could add a little slip-ramp at the north end of the curve to lead to the NB entrance ramp, which would become a C/D road. After the exits for Eastwood Dr and the Weigh Station, the entrance ramp could merge on.

And yes, almost all of my designs are minimalist. My concept for I-70 widening across Missouri utilizes only the median for the added room, and on my planned I-45 extension to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, about 75% of the route is along existing divided highway.

Maybe that will help me advocate for my plans. :-)

[mgk920]

Thoughts that I posted a year or two ago had better separation between the interstate freeway traffic and the local road network, especially with that school in the SW quadrant of the current interchange and the need to establish and maintain safe and convenient non-freeway connections between it and the city to the east.

Mike

[hbelkins]

I never understood the rationale for building a weigh station there. This is the only weigh station on a Kentucky parkway (the only other non-interstate semi-permanent weigh station I know of is on US 23 at the Floyd-Johnson county line, and I'd imagine it's not staffed all that often now due to the decline in coal truck traffic.) I'm pretty sure the construction of the Purchase Parkway in Kentucky predates the four-lane alignments of both US 51/45W and US 45E. I don't know the history of the weigh station or when it was built. I can foresee eliminating it and the KY 116/KY 166 interchange if necessary, since those routes can be accessed by either US 45 or the old US 51 alignment through Fulton.

[Avalanchez71]

It is the only Parkway that actually terminates at a state line.  It could be that at the time the state received grant money from the Feds since it was at the state line.

[sparker]

I never understood the rationale for building a weigh station there. This is the only weigh station on a Kentucky parkway (the only other non-interstate semi-permanent weigh station I know of is on US 23 at the Floyd-Johnson county line, and I'd imagine it's not staffed all that often now due to the decline in coal truck traffic.) I'm pretty sure the construction of the Purchase Parkway in Kentucky predates the four-lane alignments of both US 51/45W and US 45E. I don't know the history of the weigh station or when it was built. I can foresee eliminating it and the KY 116/KY 166 interchange if necessary, since those routes can be accessed by either US 45 or the old US 51 alignment through Fulton.

I wasn't really paying attention to "entry" facilities the times I've driven through KY (always driving a passenger car or SUV); so I don't know how extensive the weigh-station aspect of those facilities is.  So the question I'm throwing out there is:  are there weigh station facilities at most -- or even every -- Interstate entrances to the state?  If that is the case, it would seem that the facility on the Purchase Parkway is "the exception that proves the rule", likely placed because that is the only limited-access facility outside the Interstate system that crosses a state line.       

[hbelkins]

I never understood the rationale for building a weigh station there. This is the only weigh station on a Kentucky parkway (the only other non-interstate semi-permanent weigh station I know of is on US 23 at the Floyd-Johnson county line, and I'd imagine it's not staffed all that often now due to the decline in coal truck traffic.) I'm pretty sure the construction of the Purchase Parkway in Kentucky predates the four-lane alignments of both US 51/45W and US 45E. I don't know the history of the weigh station or when it was built. I can foresee eliminating it and the KY 116/KY 166 interchange if necessary, since those routes can be accessed by either US 45 or the old US 51 alignment through Fulton.

I wasn't really paying attention to "entry" facilities the times I've driven through KY (always driving a passenger car or SUV); so I don't know how extensive the weigh-station aspect of those facilities is.  So the question I'm throwing out there is:  are there weigh station facilities at most -- or even every -- Interstate entrances to the state?  If that is the case, it would seem that the facility on the Purchase Parkway is "the exception that proves the rule", likely placed because that is the only limited-access facility outside the Interstate system that crosses a state line.     

There are weigh stations on I-64 eastbound between Shelbyville and Frankfort, I-75 and I-71 south of their respective splits, I-75 north beyond Corbin, and I-24 eastbound beyond the Cumberland River. (Not sure about I-24 west beyond the Tennessee line.)

[sparker]

I never understood the rationale for building a weigh station there. This is the only weigh station on a Kentucky parkway (the only other non-interstate semi-permanent weigh station I know of is on US 23 at the Floyd-Johnson county line, and I'd imagine it's not staffed all that often now due to the decline in coal truck traffic.) I'm pretty sure the construction of the Purchase Parkway in Kentucky predates the four-lane alignments of both US 51/45W and US 45E. I don't know the history of the weigh station or when it was built. I can foresee eliminating it and the KY 116/KY 166 interchange if necessary, since those routes can be accessed by either US 45 or the old US 51 alignment through Fulton.

I wasn't really paying attention to "entry" facilities the times I've driven through KY (always driving a passenger car or SUV); so I don't know how extensive the weigh-station aspect of those facilities is.  So the question I'm throwing out there is:  are there weigh station facilities at most -- or even every -- Interstate entrances to the state?  If that is the case, it would seem that the facility on the Purchase Parkway is "the exception that proves the rule", likely placed because that is the only limited-access facility outside the Interstate system that crosses a state line.     

There are weigh stations on I-64 eastbound between Shelbyville and Frankfort, I-75 and I-71 south of their respective splits, I-75 north beyond Corbin, and I-24 eastbound beyond the Cumberland River. (Not sure about I-24 west beyond the Tennessee line.)

Since those mentioned are quite some distance from the state entrance point on any given Interstate route, it may indicate that once the Purchase is eventually signed as I-69 any weigh station could conceivably be located anywhere along its length; placing it near the state line itself wouldn't be deemed necessary.  That would certainly simplify the design aspects of the line-crossing segment near Fulton.  But whether or not to attempt to retain the current facility at or adjacent to its present location for the sake of economy would be something that would have to be determined before a design is finalized for this segment of I-69. 

[Grzrd]

This TV video reports that the opening for the I-55/69 Welcome Center is scheduled for June 23, should anyone be traveling that way this summer:

The welcome center officially opens June 23rd.

The grand opening was delayed because of bad weather:

Design changes delayed it. So did high bids and budget issues as well as utility and drainage work and, most recently, foul weather.
But now, the new Welcome Center is finally on the verge of opening for northbound motorists entering Memphis on I-55/69.
In fact, a grand opening had been set for last Friday, but state officials postponed the ceremony because of the threat of severe weather, said Pete Rosenboro, assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development.
"We are currently discussing the new date,'' he said by email on Monday.

On July 13, the welcome center started hosting guests:

The new I-55 Memphis Welcome Center is officially hosting guests, the Tennessee Departments of Transportation and Tourist Development announced today.
“This facility replaces what was the state’s oldest Welcome Center,” TDOT Commissioner John Schroer said. “I’m pleased we can offer visitors a state-of-the-art facility, while also preserving a bit of the history from the past." ....
The I-55 Center is located at 3910 northbound Interstate 55, Tennessee Mile Marker 3.10. A ceremonial “grand opening” will occur in coming months.

However, the grand opening ribbon-cutting was supposed to take place this morning (although the article covering it has disappeared from the OKMemphis website). At any rate, one can drive to it and visit it.

[ThatRandomOshawott]

The interchange between US 51 and I-69 in Union City is currently under construction.

[Brooks]

The interchange between US 51 and I-69 in Union City is currently under construction.

it has been since 2016

[triplemultiplex]

That Union City bypass is being constructed comically far from the city to the north.  They should have tied back into US 51 where it curves east and improve the existing road to SR 22.  Probably could've saved enough money to buy another few miles of freeway conversion elsewhere in the corridor.

[froggie]

I don't understand why they didn't try utilizing part of the existing Union City bypass.  It's already limited-access and though it'd be a tight fit in some spots, they reasonably could have upgraded it to fully controlled access.  At a minimum, they could have used the north leg (east-west running) of the bypass without much issue.

[The Ghostbuster]

How long before the entire Interstate 69 Union City Bypass is completed to the Purchase Parkway? I assume it will be quite a while?

[triplemultiplex]

Here's what I was talking about upthread:


Threw that together in Google Earth since I was at work at the time.

[froggie]

^ Generally along the lines of what I mentioned in my "At a minimum" sentence.

[hbelkins]

I never understood that wide routing myself. As for a Purchase Parkway connection, the only thing that needs to be done is reconstruction of the US 51/US 45/US 45E/US 45W interchange in Tennessee, and probably a reworking of Exit 0 in Kentucky as well. After that, and with the work that's being done south of Union City, really the only thing that would be required is conversion of the toll booth cloverleaf at the Wingo exit and the route could be signed all the way to US 412/I-155.

[froggie]

^ A quick web search found that the Wingo interchange made KYTC's 6-year plan and is currently scheduled for 2023.

IMO, any proper reworking of the 51/45/E/W interchange will impact Exit 0.  IMO, I'd shut it down (it's horribly sub-standard anyway), move the weigh station further north, and covert the northbound side of Exit 1 into a folded-diamond.  This would allow proper ramp spacing from the 51/45/E/W interchange to the weigh station, and from the weigh station to the NB off-ramp at Exit 1.

[hbelkins]

^ A quick web search found that the Wingo interchange made KYTC's 6-year plan and is currently scheduled for 2023.

IMO, any proper reworking of the 51/45/E/W interchange will impact Exit 0.  IMO, I'd shut it down (it's horribly sub-standard anyway), move the weigh station further north, and covert the northbound side of Exit 1 into a folded-diamond.  This would allow proper ramp spacing from the 51/45/E/W interchange to the weigh station, and from the weigh station to the NB off-ramp at Exit 1.

I'll reserve comment on the six-year plan until the legislative session is over after this weekend. The whole thing has been a mess. The governor vetoed the entire General Fund budget because the legislature added funding that the governor didn't include in his budget. The legislature also added a number of road projects that weren't in the submitted six-year plan, so who knows what will happen there?

As for Exit 0 there's really nothing there that can't be accessed from the US 51 exit (Kentucky exit 1) or the US 45/E/W interchange in Tennessee. I don't even really know why the weigh station is there. It's the only one on Kentucky's parkway system -- yes, I know it's the only parkway that touches a state border -- and I don't know how busy it is.

[Grzrd]

There's a lot of I-69 SIU 7 planned for FY 2020 in the FY 2018-20 Three Year Plan (pp. 9-10/21 of pdf):

....

There's also revised ROW acquisition for I-69/I-240 (p.12/21 of pdf):

No Lauderdale County/SIU 8 projects, though.

The FY 2019-21 Three Year Plan contains the following Obion County projects, which includes the addition of environmental work on the state line section in 2019 and preliminary engineering on the state line section in 2021 (p.14/31 of pdf):



However, no additional work on either I-69/I-240 in Shelby County or I-69 in Lauderdale County.