Tennessee Plans First Toll Roads with I-24 Choice Lanes Project

Issue #175

10 Aug

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In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

🌤 Columbia Weather - Mostly sunny with a high of 85

📰 Tennessee Plans First Toll Roads with I-24 Choice Lanes Project

📰 Exhibition Celebrates Legacy of Rosenwald Schools in Maury County 

📌 TODAY: Children’s Success Seminar & Free Pizza Party 

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

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Upcoming Local Events

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Saturday, August 10th

Monday, August 12th

Tuesday, August 13th

Wednesday, August 14th

Friday, August 16th

Saturday, August 17th

Tennessee Plans First Toll Roads with I-24 Choice Lanes Project

Tennessee officials are planning the state’s inaugural toll roads, Choice Lanes!

The proposed I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes project would construct new, optional Choice Lanes on I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro. Choice Lanes are price-managed lanes that use pricing to proactively manage demand and provide travel-time reliability. The proposed Choice Lanes would allow motorists to maintain consistent travel speeds even when the adjacent existing lanes are congested.

By adding capacity to this heavily traveled roadway, operations are expected to improve in this major growth area. Choice Lanes would provide another option for motorists to bypass congestion, allowing motorists to maintain consistent travel times. The Choice Lanes would be new, optional lanes designed, built, financed, operated and maintained by a private-sector partner through a Public-Private Partnership (P3), with initial funding provided by the Transportation Modernization Act.

Current Status: Following initial congestion studies to determine the financial viability of Choice Lanes in the Nashville region, TDOT has commissioned Traffic and Revenue studies and is conversing with private-sector partners to further investigate the feasibility of Choice Lanes. Environmental studies are underway.

Funding Type: Transportation Modernization Act funds have been allocated for a partial public contribution for the proposed project, which would be delivered through a Public-Private Partnership (P3), where the private sector partner would design, build, finance, operate and maintain the proposed project.

History and Background

Historic growth in Tennessee has increased traffic levels in urban areas. The resulting chronic congestion, which spans key corridors, stresses the urgency to modernize infrastructure to meet current and future growth. TDOT’s Congestion Studies estimate that $30 billion (2022) is needed to address both urban and rural congestion in Tennessee. Choice Lanes are an emerging urban congestion solution now possible in Tennessee with the authorization of P3s.

The additional state funding provided through the Transportation Modernization Act expands TDOT’s opportunities for federal grants and accelerates urban congestion projects, including Choice Lanes. TDOT’s 10-Year Project Plan identified the I-24 Southeast corridor between I-40 in Nashville and I-840 in Murfreesboro as a priority urban congestion relief project to deliver as Tennessee’s first Choice Lanes project, and the Transportation Modernization Board approved the proposed Project to be added to TDOT’s 3-Year Plan and advance environmental studies on February 26, 2024. The proposed Choice Lanes on I-24 Southeast are part of a larger program of proposed Choice Lanes projects in some of the most congested areas of Tennessee.

Utilizing a P3 for Choice Lanes is a powerful approach to addressing urban-area congestion and preserving critical funds to address congestion-related challenges in rural areas, like widening interstates to six lanes. Tennessee’s Choice Lanes would be new lanes—funded in partnership with the private sector— added to congested urban highways that allow motorists an option of paying a voluntary user fee in exchange for faster, more reliable travel speeds and trip times.

Public Involvement and Engagement

In accordance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regulations and under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an environmental document is required that identifies the significance of a project’s environmental impact.

Environmental studies are underway, and the project team will communicate and coordinate with the public and stakeholders often. Public information meetings will take place in August 2024, where the public can provide official comments about the project and its potential impacts.

Upcoming Public Meetings

  • Wednesday, August 14, 5 p.m.
    Virtual Public Information Meeting
    TDOT’s Website

  • Wednesday, August 21, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
    Smyrna Event Center
    100 Sam Ridley Parkway E, Smyrna, TN 37167

  • Wednesday, August 28, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
    The Fairgrounds Nashville
    401 Wingrove Street, Nashville, TN 37203

  • Thursday, August 29, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
    Southeast Community Center
    5260 Hickory Hollow Pkwy #202, Antioch, TN 37013

TDOT held an introduction live stream for stakeholders on March 21, 2024.

Press Release

Exhibition Celebrates Legacy of Rosenwald Schools in Maury County

The African American Heritage Society of Maury County (AAHSMC) is showcasing a new traveling exhibition titled "Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee." This exhibition will be available for public viewing from August 2 through September 13 at the Maury County Public Library.

Developed by the Tennessee State Museum in collaboration with The John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University, the exhibit highlights the history of education for Black Tennesseans, spanning from the Reconstruction era to the creation and impact of the Rosenwald Schools, and extending into contemporary times.

The Rosenwald Schools played a crucial role in educating African American students in rural Maury County for over four decades. Complementing the traveling exhibit, the AAHSMC has curated additional displays featuring photographs of teachers, students, and the 15 Rosenwald Schools located in Maury County.

As part of the exhibition, the AAHSMC will host a special event titled “In Conversation: Former Rosenwald School Students.” This event, scheduled for August 10 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Maury County Public Library, will feature former students sharing their educational experiences.

Rosenwald Schools were established through a partnership initiated by Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., and Booker T. Washington, president of Tuskegee Institute, along with support from Black communities across the South. This collaboration, which took place between 1912 and 1937, led to the construction of nearly 5,000 schools for Black children across 15 southern states, including 354 schools in Tennessee.

These schools were instrumental in advancing educational opportunities for Black students and helped shape the generation that would later lead the Civil Rights movement. The traveling exhibit at the Maury County Public Library includes five two-sided panels, featuring compelling stories from alumni and community members of 16 different Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee.

The Tennessee State Museum and Fisk University aimed to create an inclusive space where Tennesseans can learn about and honor the legacy of Black education in the state. The exhibit emphasizes the resilience and determination of Black communities as they sought equal access to education through the Rosenwald School program. The legacy of these schools continues today through ongoing preservation efforts by members of these same communities.

This traveling exhibit is an extension of the "Building a Bright Future" initiative, which previously included a temporary exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum and a two-day symposium. The project has been recognized with the 2024 American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Leadership in History Award of Excellence and the 2024 Tennessee Association of Museums President’s Award.

TODAY: Children’s Success Seminar & Free Pizza Party

Today at 12pm, Nashville Krav Maga is hosting a FREE Focus for Better Grades seminar! This is for all kids, ages 5-13, to help set them up for the new school year. And we're going to end it with a Pizza Party! You don't want to miss it!

Nashville Krav Maga
2520 Hospitality Dr., Columbia

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Saturday, August 10th

Box of Rox, Amber Falls Winery, 3-7 PM
The Def Leprechaun Band, McCreary's Irish Pub, 7-9 PM
Lindsay Beth Harper, The Tilted Mule, 7 PM
Lynn Marie & E3, Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
The Bald Kernal Band, Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM
Down South, The Boondox, 8-11 PM

Sunday, August 11th

Ben Daniels, Amber Falls Winery, 1-5 PM
Mix Tape Allstars, The Rebel, 4 PM
Dustin Kiness, Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 5-8 PM
Kenny Durham, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM

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