NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A massive $153 million construction project on Interstate 440 in Nashville began Friday night and drivers can expect to see a lot of changes.
As work gets underway, drivers will be traveling on the outside shoulder. Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are shifting the lanes to the right so it can start tearing up the median.
TDOT is promising a smoother and safer road when the project is done next summer.
Work on I-440 is anticipated to take place 24 hours a day, six days a week. The work will begin west of I-65 between the Granny White Pike area and West End Avenue, then extend throughout the 7.5-mile corridor.
“If you can find an alternate route, you should do that starting this weekend,” said Will Reid, TDOT’s Assistant Chief Engineer of Operations.
A big part of this project is the excavation of the grassy median. TDOT plans to build a concrete median in its place so cars can't cross over to traffic going the other direction.
Likely, the most noticeable improvement will be the new pavement and a safer median. TDOT said the road was 30 years old and constant use had worn the pavement.
“Everyone is familiar with the potholes on 440. The pavement has lived its life, the past 30 years plus. It's just time for it to be replaced,” said TDOT’s Operations District Supervisor Clayton Markham.
Expect noise if you live nearby, even in the overnight hours. The project is slated to be done by August of 2020.
Read more:
