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Memphis Road Projects


Rardy

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The Memphis & Shelby County Office of Planning and Development has this to say about I-240 widening between Walnut Grove and 385:

Design is underway to widen I-240 one addition lane in each direction. Design meetings to be held this summer. Several drainage issues need to be resolved prior to completion of the design. TDOT has programmed right-of-way acquisition for fiscal year 2004 and construction in fiscal year 2006.
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The busiest portions of freeways in Memphis in 2003 (in parantheses is the percentage growth over 2002):

I-240 between Lamar and Mt. Moriah, 164,160 vpd (up 1.36%)

I-40 between 240 and Sycamore view, 143,330 vpd (up 10.09%)

Nonconnah between 240 and Ridgeway, 113,780 (up 3.9%)

I-55 between 240 and Brooks, 89,370 (no 2002 data)

Sam Cooper between Perkins and Mendenhall, 65,750 (up 9.44%)

The busiest surface street in Shelby County was Germantown Pkwy. between Raleigh-Lagrange and Macon, 68,430 (busier than the Sam Cooper).

I can't find data past 2003, but it can be assumed if those growth rates are continued that the south leg of I-240 is currently around 170,000.

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The east interchange of I-40 and I-240 will be getting an 85 ft. high fourth level, construction to begin in early 2007. The Commercial Appeal reported several months ago that this will be our first four-level interchange, but they're incorrect -- the interchange of I-40 and Riverside downtown directly in front of the Pyramid is four levels, but you don't really see it because I-40 is on top.
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Cool, they're finally going to finish the I-40 I-240 east interchange. I thought they would never get done. I love that interchange downtown. Those ramps that fly right buy the convention center and the cool "ghost" ramps that just end. Everytime I go downtown I see them working on the pillars, I think they're earthquake proofing them.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Humphreys at Walnut Grove to be closed Friday through Sunday; Walnut Grove to be closed at Humphreys Friday night through Sunday.

They are lowering the intersection 15 feet to be able to later install the WG overpass.

The project is 6 months ahead of schedule!

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I-269 in Mississippi fasttracked, today's CA

Mississippi officials are hoping to have the entire road completed (from design to right of way to construction) in FIVE years. The Mississippi segment is 28.6 miles, from Hernando to the state line just south of Collierville. The MS project is costing $475 million alone.

Let's see...hmmmm...it's taken TDOT, what six? years to build the 15-mile road between I-40 and Collierville and they're saying it'll take 3 more for paving alone?? <_<

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They got the gold mine and we got the shaft............. Is it really going to take 3 years for paving? If so thats ridiculous. How fast do major road projects in the rest of Tennessee take, because it seems like T-DOT likes to take their time here. I mean how hard is it to build an interstate on a relativly flat piece of land that shelby county sits on. And another question....How long did it take them to build 840 over next to Nashville? 385 is much shorter than 840.

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^They're still not finished with the south leg--the section between Franklin and TN 96 still has not been built--in fact, the state is wasting taxpayer's money to reroute and redesign the road to appease a handful of wealthy people in and around Leipers Fork. Land purchased for the highway a few years ago is now rendered useless. People's homes and trailers were bought, requiring the state to pay even more to relocate them, but now some of that is no longer needed under the new design. In addition, state funds were spent on the various redesigns, the "town meetings", new enviromental impact studies, and a whole host of other things just to make some rich country singers happy. Now, new land will have to be purchased and possibly more people relocated, upping the cost even further.

That is in large part why the southern leg has not been completed.

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Ehhh, sort of. The road construction quality and maintenance is hit-or-miss, but when you compare today's Mississippi roads with those before the 1987 highway act, it's night and day. Mississippi roads used to be the worst in the south at all levels from interstates to county roads, but these days, they're generally very good, and far better than neighboring roads in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama. In fact, I find it humorous in several recent movies that when characters are driving in Mississippi, you often see them driving down dirt roads to get between places like Jackson and Clarksdale. In reality, it seems like the state government took every dusty trail and made a 4-lane divided highway out of it.

However, it's puzzling that the section of US 78 between Marshall County and Tupelo is in terrible shape not long after being built, while an older stretch of US 45 around Meridian is still in excellent shape with minimal maintenance. Both are concrete with no asphalt overlay, so the original materials and construction must have been the difference. Crews are still working to patch 78 ahead of its conversion to I-22. Maybe the North Miss. transportation commissioner at the time must have siphoned off more funds....

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The SmartWay project is underway, which will put 117 cameras on Memphis freeways. Additionally, we'll have electronic message boards practically every 2 miles. When they're functioning, they'll post messages about construction and incidents and eventually have travel times.

I'm having trouble reading the date of completion, but I believe all the cameras are up and we're just waiting on the installation of the message boards. Here's a map:

memphis-future.gif

This system once finished will be one of the best in the country, actually. TDOT is working for us. I take back all the stuff I said about them. :P

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The SmartWay project is underway, which will put 117 cameras on Memphis freeways. Additionally, we'll have electronic message boards practically every 2 miles. When they're functioning, they'll post messages about construction and incidents and eventually have travel times.

I'm having trouble reading the date of completion, but I believe all the cameras are up and we're just waiting on the installation of the message boards. Here's a map:

memphis-future.gif

This system once finished will be one of the best in the country, actually. TDOT is working for us. I take back all the stuff I said about them. :P

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I don't! Nashville was first to get it. Knoxville was scheduled as second. We are third. I don't know how things have worked out since but that was the plan when released and I think you can find it on their website.
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I may be wrong, but I believe the City and MLG&W were part of the delay. They worked extensively with TDOT to make sure we didn't get screwed. If TDOT was going to do it, they needed to do it right and work with local agencies in determining locations of cameras and message boards--that's what Memphis wanted to ensure.

^I wasn't aware that Chattanooga's system was up and running. I didn't notice on TDOT's Smartway website last I looked.

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They've started paving the new section between Arlington and Collierville, and they're moving along quite fast. I thought I read the same thing from the article you mention below, so I was surprised to see workers laying asphalt.

Too funny! :rofl:

The last I read - and I'll try to find the article - was that 385/269 won't be open between Arlington and Collierville until 2010 because of the rising costs of asphalt. The portion of the road between Hwy. 72 and Hwy. 57 in Collierville is essentially complete, I believe. It's just waiting on pavement.

They STILL aren't finished on 840, btw.

Honestly, I really can't fault TDOT. We have the 3rd best roads in the U.S., and we have them to thank. They keep a handle on congestion. But *sometimes* things seem absurd. They're really getting shown up by MDOT on I-269.

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They've started paving the new section between Arlington and Collierville, and they're moving along quite fast. I thought I read the same thing from the article you mention below, so I was surprised to see workers laying asphalt.
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