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I-69 in TN
Grzrd:
Looks like there may be some early-stage viewing opportunities if anyone is passing through the area during holiday travels: http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=49020
--- Quote ---I-69 is beginning to take shape through Obion County and is attracting considerable attention among area residents.
Overpasses for the interstate are rising around Union City and construction crews have cut off traffic to certain areas as they work on building up the interstate route around Union City.
Most noticeably, overpasses are beginning to take shape on Brevard Road, just west of the Union City Goodyear plant, and a second intersection on West Main Street.
Erwin White, I-69 project manager for northwest Tennessee, told The Messenger Monday that preliminary work is on schedule through this area for the interstate. In a telephone interview from his Jackson office, White said site preparation work is being done for the interstate project’s route through Obion County. He explained that Stage I construction work includes designing the structures (interchanges) and earthwork on the interstate.
It is that stage of the project that is beginning to change the landscape around Union City with dump trucks and heavy construction equipment carving out overpasses ...
For the Union City area, there are actually five interchanges planned along the I-69 route. The first interchange will be at Mayberry Road northeast of Union City and just south of a proposed weigh station and rest area.
Other proposed interchanges around Union City include one on State Route 21 (Jordan Highway) just north of Union City, the interchange on Brevard Road, an interchange on State Route 5 (West Main Street), an interchange on State Route 184 (East Old Troy Road just east of Belle Aire Subdivision), and a final interchange on West Reelfoot Avenue.
The West Reelfoot Avenue interchange will reconnect new construction of I-69 into the existing Highway 51 South to Troy. There are three interchanges planned for the Troy area, with the interstate veering due southeast of Highway 51 until it reconnects with Highway 51 just south of Troy. The proposed interchanges in Troy are located at State Route 21 just east of the city, an interchange at Troy-Polk Station Road and a final interchange south of town reconnecting with Highway 51 ...
Generally speaking, White said it costs about $6 million to $10 million per mile to build an interstate and interchanges cost an estimated $3 million to $5 million apiece to build.
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Grzrd:
I deleted "Obion County Construction Progress" from thread title because new three-year TIP does not include any new non-I-269 projects. Here is an article from Dyersburg newspaper emphasizing the money crunch regarding I-69:
http://www.stategazette.com/story/1731050.html
--- Quote ---The biggest obstacle to completing the superhighway known as I-69 is money. That was the consensus among speakers at a Mid-Continent Highway Coalition (I-69) meeting last week at the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce ... John Ford of Ford Construction and vice president of transportation for the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce said the state is hurting when it comes to receiving federal funding for projects and especially for I-69 ... His company is working on a 4-mile section of I-69 in Obion County at the cost of $32 million. Ford said Ford Construction is just one of 25 projects in the country involved in completing I-69 and one of only five in the state ... He stated the state of Tennessee did not include any I-69 jobs in the northern part of the state in their three-year road plan ... "The only I-69 funding in the three-year road plan going forward is the paving of two sections they have already built in Shelby County, and then I think it's about 2.3 miles at the very bottom section," said Ford ... Ford added the work was continuing on right-of-ways and engineering in the state ... "A lot of that has already been funded," said Ford ... According to Ford, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lets contracts for around $700 million-$800 million, which is about 2 percent of federal transportation funding. Ford said there is a proposal to cut the state's funding by 35 percent, which would be a cut of $281 million ... "I'm just saying, from our perspective there needs to be a lot of conversation with the governor and the commissioner of transportation," said Ford ... He noted the need for money to be specifically designated for I-69 ... Congressman Stephen Fincher was at the meeting and said the country is at a financial crossroads and infrastructure needs more attention paid to it ... "We take our infrastructure for granted," said Fincher. "And until the American public one day goes out in their car and knocks the front end from under the car, because there are potholes in the road as big as this room, I'm afraid we are not going to deal with it." ... "I just cannot propose a gas tax in this environment," said Fincher ... Fincher stated he and his colleagues were fighting to get a highway bill out ... Mid-Continent Highway Coalition Vice President Bill Revell gave an overall report on the construction of I-69 ... The whole construction of I-69 is divided into 32 sections of independent utilities ... "The reason they did that is because if they can't complete the whole highway someday, whatever they do complete the money won't be thrown away," said Revell, giving a comparison of Great River Road off of I-155 ... He added I-69 is very important due to the trade partners to the north and south, meaning Canada and Mexico. "It's critical we get this highway built," said Revell.
--- End quote ---
It will be interesting to see what alternatives will be presented for Tennessee in the upcoming multi-state Innovative Financing Study for I-69. I hope AHTD will soon finalize contract with the consultant. Here is link to Financing Study thread:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=2920.0
rte66man:
<quote>
"The reason they did that is because if they can't complete the whole highway someday, whatever they do complete the money won't be thrown away," said Revell, giving a comparison of Great River Road off of I-155 ...
</quote>
What exactly is the "Great River Road" off I-155 and why was it a waste?
rte66man
NE2:
Probably SR 181, which seems to have been built to higher standards up to the abrupt end at SR 88.
Grzrd:
Although short on specifics, this August 10 article suggests that I-69 construction around Union City is ahead of schedule:
http://www.nwtntoday.com/news.php?viewStory=59315
--- Quote ---State Commissioner of Transportation John Schroer got a first-hand look Tuesday at progress being made on I-69 in Obion County. Schroer and about 30 other state and local officials stopped on top of the Brevard Road overpass as part of the TDOT Projects Tour 2011 ... Schroer told the group that work on the Obion County segment of I-69 represents the first “pure” segment of the new interstate under construction in Tennessee. Work on the I-69 route through Obion County is ahead of schedule, according to Erwin White with the TDOT office in Jackson. On Tuesday, Schroer stressed the importance of the interstate project for Tennessee as well as the entire country ... Work on the I-69 route through Obion County is being done in “segments.” Construction is ahead of schedule in Obion County as the interstate route is beginning to take shape around Union City. In fact, during Tuesday’s briefing on Brevard Road, several concrete mixer trucks rumbled by and drowned out some the comments made about I-69. “It is a priority of mine to see firsthand the investments we are making in transportation projects across the state,” Schroer said. “These ‘viewing tours’ will also give us the opportunity to share valuable information about these projects with our elected officials and engage the public along the way.
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