Major Congestion May Bring More Than Construction

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Major Congestion May Bring More Than Construction

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- That daily commute into downtown Nashville can be time consuming and frustrating. Now, the congestion problem is spreading east and west on I- 40, and the state is starting to take notice.

Interstate 40 is the primary roadway for local traffic, commuters, and truck drivers.

Now according to a number of studies, if nothing is done to improve traffic flow on I-40, the interstate could be congested all the way from Dickson to Mt. Juliet within the next four years.

"In Nashville, the congestion is certainly growing. We've seen a lot of growth in the middle Tennessee area," said Tennessee Department of transportation spokesperson, Julie Oaks. "Any morning driving in through Nashville you can see that people are generally a little frustrated. I hear a lot of folks complain about the HOV lanes, to people who aren't following the rules," she said.

The congestion is so bad, it's enough to be considered failing. That's why the department of transportation has launched an 18 month study to find problems and come up with solutions.

"What we are going to look at is not only widening our roadways because we can't widen them enough to handle all the congestion," said Oaks.

For TDOT, it comes down to improving traffic flow between Dickson County and Wilson County.

They are considering adding travel lanes, improving alternate roads, diverting freights from trucks to trains, designating truck lanes, or making operational improvements including more cameras, message boards, and motorist assistance trucks.

Julie Oaks thinks these improvements will help.

"About 55% of the population of Tennessee lives on the I-40 corridor, so this is an important route. I-40/ I-75 are two areas we are experiencing a lot of growth, and we feel we need to get out in front of that," said Oaks.

As congestion becomes more of a problem, TDOT hopes motorists take more advantage of the commuter rail line, which already exists from Mt. Juliet to downtown. But what is the possibility of rail lines making it into other suburbs along I-40?

"That's something RTA would have to answer. I know that they've certainly looked at specifically going to Murfreesboro, Franklin, Gallatin," said Oaks.

Despite all these options, these will just be short term fixes, and that means more long term construction.

"In the near future there aren't a lot of major projects planned here in the Nashville area, but that could change. This is something we look at yearly," said Oaks.

Middle Tennesseans should expect to see more maintenance issues taken care of instead of new construction because TDOT has to spread the money throughout the entire state for places in need including urban and rural areas.

Currently, TDOT has a $200 million construction project to revamp I-40 in Knoxville. That will start in May.

Clarksville is also looking into the future, and sees a need to ease traffic congestion. Clarksville City Council will meet in a work session Monday.

They will talk about possible routes and funding for a new east-west corridor. That's between Jack Miller Boulevard by Fort Campbell's Gate 1, and South Hampton Place, directly across from Governor's Square Mall. They said if nothing is done, traffic will be a big problem in 25 years.