TDOT, consultants outline I‑40/I‑75 corridor study and options including choice lanes, relocation

Tennessee Department of Transportation officials and their consultants on Feb. 1 presented a planning and environmental update on the I‑40/I‑75 west‑Knoxville priority investment, describing a roughly 17‑mile study area, heavy truck volumes and a range of alternatives that will be narrowed through a Planning‑Environmental Linkages (PEL) study in 2025.

The project team said the effort is a PD&E (preliminary design and environmental) engagement meant to run engineering and environmental work in parallel so the department can move more quickly into project development and, eventually, construction on selected alternatives.

"This corridor is vastly important," Dexter Justice, TDOT’s point of accountability for the project, told the Knoxville Transportation Planning Organization. He said the corridor is part of a national freight network and that "truck volumes through here exceed 20%" of traffic. "Most interstates around the country see in the 5 to 10% range." Justice added that the study area covers about 17 miles from the I‑75/I‑40 interchange on the west side of Knoxville toward Lenoir City and north into Anderson County.

STV project manager Brad…