NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Get ready for major headaches if you drive the I-440 loop on a regular basis.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon begin replacing pavement and installing traffic barriers along the busy stretch of interstate.
Preliminary work on the $152 million project gets underway next month. TDOT Commissioner John Schroer says the serious work begins in February.
“And that will be major construction and will have impacts on everyone us that use that road and drive around it or near it.”
The interstate’s crumbling concrete lanes will be taken out and replaced. An additional lane will be added.
TDOT hopes to cut down on the number of crossover accidents on 440 by replacing the grass median with a barrier wall.
Officials say the interstate will never be completely closed, but it will be reduced to two narrow lanes without shoulders. That likely means long delays when accidents do occur.
I-440 will often be reduced to a single lane at night.
TDOT Engineer Will Reid says to make the project move as quickly as possible, road crews will work the site 24/7.
“One of the things that will do for us is allow us to take a project that would normally last three to four years and be able to do it in two.
TDOT says it hopes to have the I-440 project completed by the summer of 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCyfJg-pgpg&feature=youtu.be
The agency says it plans to coordinate with Metro to better control traffic on major city roads feeding I-440. It also has a plan to speed reaction times by first responders in the event of accidents.