TDOT, consultants outline corridorwide I‑40/I‑75 PEL study; schedule November public meetings and an online survey

Tennessee Department of Transportation staff and project consultants updated the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization on Oct. 22 about a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study for the I‑40/I‑75 corridor, outlining study goals, deliverables, a public outreach schedule and a timeline aimed at completing the PEL in mid‑2026.

Eric Saggers of HNTB and Brad Thompson of STV described the study area as roughly 17 miles of mainline between the I‑475/I‑75 split on the west and the I‑640 interchange on the east, plus adjoining corridors where a bypass (previously discussed as the Orange Route) could be reconsidered. Consultants said the PEL is a corridor‑wide process that integrates planning, environmental and preliminary engineering work to accelerate subsequent NEPA (environmental) phases and avoid piecemeal solutions.

"We've been starting to call this our NEPA Fast Pass," Eric Saggers said, describing the PEL's intent to advance environmental and engineering work during the planning phase so identified projects can transition more quickly into formal NEPA documentation and design.

Consultants described current deliverables under development: a baseline conditions report, a draft purpose and need, an alternative screening methodology and public meeting materials. They reported that the baseline analysis shows more than 5,000 crashes in the corridor over a three‑year period (2022–2024) and that several corridor locations rank among the region’s highest congestion points. Consultants said some sections carry as many as about 210,000 vehicles per day where the two interstates converge.

The study will consider a wide range of options — from operational and ITS measures to mainline widening, collector–distributor roads, choice lanes and the possibility of a bypass route — and will use traffic and travel‑demand modeling, including traffic‑and‑revenue calibration for any choice‑lane alternatives. Consultants said they are conducting a fatal‑flaw evaluation of preliminary alternatives and will screen to a set of reasonable alternatives for detailed analysis.

Brad Thompson said the PEL includes multiple concurrence points with the Federal Highway Administration. "For each one of those phases, we have to coordinate directly with FHWA," he said, adding that FHWA concurrence is needed if the PEL is to be used to streamline later NEPA work.

Consultants announced three identical in‑person public meetings in November (one per night at separate locations) with a virtual option and a narrated prerecorded presentation for those who attend online. Each in‑person session is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The online survey hosted at publicinput.com will go live the week after the meeting announcement and remain open through Dec. 4; consultants said written comments and survey responses submitted by Dec. 4 will be incorporated into the official record and summarized for the study team, with a preliminary synthesis expected by mid‑December.

Board members asked whether the analysis will account for induced demand; consultants said the travel models are sensitive to such effects and will evaluate how capacity changes could reassign travel to or from local corridors. They also discussed weigh‑station impacts and truck weaving as contributors to safety problems in the corridor.

Staff said the PEL work is intended to inform planned projects in the corridor and accelerate delivery; consultants noted that some interchange projects already appear in TDOT’s 10‑year program and that mainline outcomes of the PEL could influence interchange configurations and timing. Consultants said the PEL study report and subsequent screening and prioritization products will feed later NEPA and design work.

The public can find study materials and links on the TDOT study web page; TPO staff offered to circulate links and promotional materials to local members to amplify outreach.