TDOT presents I‑40/I‑75 corridor PEL study; public meetings scheduled in November

Christie Brown, region 1 director of preconstruction at the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), and consultants from HNTB and STV gave an update Oct. 14 on the I‑40/I‑75 corridor Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study and announced public meetings in November.

Brown said the corridor study is “a very significant project for both the region and the state” and introduced program management consultant Eric Seggers of HNTB and lead study consultant Brad Thompson of STV. Seggers described the PEL as a planning-to‑NEPA approach that TDOT is using to evaluate corridor‑level improvements and accelerate future project delivery. “This is the first PEL process that TDOT’s actually following,” he said.

Brad Thompson summarized the study phases: Phase 1 (initiation and methodology), Phase 2 (identifying a full range of preliminary alternatives without preconceptions), Phase 3 (fatal‑flaw screening and development of a reasonable alternative set), and a final alternative evaluation that yields recommended PEL alternatives that can move into NEPA and preliminary engineering. He said most early work…