Tag: TDOT

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US Department of Transportation Allocates Millions to Memphis Intersection Improvement

Photo by Bernd đź“· Dittrich on Unsplash

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)has allocated $13.1 million for improvements to one of the most dangerous intersections in the city of Memphis.

Last week the department announced its fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Safe Streets and Roads for All grants, which totaled $172 million, nationwide. Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced that the city would be using its funding to redesign the intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue and Pendleton Street.

“This complex intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue, and Pendleton Street has a confusing array of signals, fading and disjointed pedestrian connectivity, and little guidance on appropriate movements,” USDOT officials said.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said this corridor faces “crippling congestion” affecting freight facilities, warehouse and distribution centers, as well. The agency applied for funding for Lamar Avenue in 2018 through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, receiving $71.1 million for improvements.

According to USDOT, the city plans to close one of the roads at the intersection to provide a simpler design in hopes of improving safety. Other enhancements will include a public education campaign, a pilot program for a camera magnification system, and crash data analysis technology.

Another allocation was made to the MidSouth Development District for $2, 419, 870 from the FY 2024 Planning and Demonstration Grant Award to further address traffic-related injuries.through a “Comprehensive Safety action Plan.” 

USDOT officials said the grant will use data analysis, stakeholder input, and best practices to implement a plan to reduce “roadway fatalities” across the region.

“The demonstration activities will include a Safe Routes to School demonstration and EMT post-crash care training,” USDOT added.

Cohen said he was pleased to vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which has lead to the funding for these improvements.

“ I am sure that having this new investment in comprehensive safety planning will help save lives,” Cohen said in a statement.

Memphis was ranked the most dangerous metro city for pedestrians earlier this year by the nonprofit organization Smart Growth America. Their data showed that more than half of pedestrian deaths (65 percent) over the last decade happened in the last five years.

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Musk Watch, Last Lodge, and Spicy

Posted to Instagram by @elonmusksjet

Memphis on the internet.

Musk Watch

Instagram bot @elonmusksjet tracks Elon Musk’s jet and logged a quick visit here Sunday evening, likely checking in on the mysterious goings-on at xAI’s new supercomputer. 

Not mysterious, however, were the details of the flight, according to the bot: 1,025 gallons of jet fuel used, at a cost of about $5,742, and 11 tons of CO2 emissions.

(H/t to u/phoebetoes on Reddit)

Last Lodge

Posted to Facebook by Chris McCoy

“Literally every freak in Memphis is at Black Lodge tonight,” wrote Flyer film and TV editor Chris McCoy of the venue’s final event Saturday. 

Spicy

Posted to Facebook by Memphis Police Department

Memphis Police Department arrested a 15-year-old male last week on charges of vandalism between $2,500 and $10,000. The alleged “Spicy” tagger was prolific in the I-240/Poplar area. He even taunted the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), which had apparently covered his previous tags, with the message, “Thx 4 ur service TDOT,” and a heart.

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Millions in MATA Contracts Go to Disadvantaged Businesses

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) officials reported that more than $1.7 million in contracts were awarded over the last six months in its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program.

Contracts in the program are awarded to DBEs by ethnicity and gender. The six ethnicities include Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asian Pacific American, Subcontinent Asian American, and non-minority. 

A total of $18,284 was awarded to women, but only to Subcontinent Asian American women. More than $1.7 million program dollars were awarded to men, with $960,259 being awarded to Black American men, and $794,451 being awarded to subcontinent Asian American men.

The program’s reporting period was from October 1st, 2022 to March 31st, said Anthony Amos, MATA’s chief compliance officer. MATA creates a proposal goal and submits it the FTA (Federal Transit Administration) every three years, he said.

“This goal is established using financial information for future capital projects that we have proposed to complete during these three years,” said Amos. “We are currently developing a new proposed three-year goal that will be submitted to the FTA by August 1st of this year. It was 17 percent for the previous three-year goal cycle

DBEs are a “vital part of the economic structure of the Mid-South, and assisting those businesses contributes to their overall economic growth and expansion as well as strengthening the economic foundation of our community,” said MATA.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said DBEs “are for-profit small business concerns where socially and economically disadvantaged individuals own at least a 51 percent interest and also control management and daily business operations.” 

To participate in this program, the qualifying business must receive a DBE certification from their state.

Amos compared MATA’s program to the city of Memphis’ Minority, Women-Owned and Small Business Enterprise (MWSBE) program, but said the program have significant differences. For example, the governing body for MATA’s program is the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) while the city’s program is governed by the Office of Business Diversity and Compliance (OBDC.)

“USDOT’s DBE Program seeks to ensure nondiscrimination in the award and administration of USDOT-assisted contracts in the Department’s highway, transit, and airport financial assistance programs and to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly for USDOT-assisted contracts,” the presentation stated.

With a Black population of 64.4 percent, MATA officials said Memphis ranked fifth in the top 10 cities with the largest African-American population with transit agencies, according to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Framework. Jackson, Mississippi, ranked first with 82.8 percent of their population identifying as African-American.

The report also showed that 52.6 percent of the population identified as female, and 22.6 percent live in poverty. Among their peers, Memphis and MATA ranked 6th in both categories.

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At Large Opinion

Warning Shot

Photo: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Some of you may remember that back in 2015 the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced plans to shut down the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi in Memphis for nine months. TDOT said it needed to do so in order to install a “roundabout” interchange on the Memphis end of the bridge. The entire project was to begin in early 2017 and last through November 2019, effectively screwing up traffic across the bridge and through South Memphis for two years.

It didn’t happen. And that’s mainly because some people with common sense (including this newspaper’s staff) raised hell against it, pointing out that shutting down the “old bridge” was a nightmare scenario, one that would funnel 100,000 vehicles a day (double its then-current traffic count) across the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and expose the entire Central U.S. to a potential shutdown of commerce should something happen to the one remaining bridge.

Over in West Memphis, state Senator Keith Ingram’s hair was on fire. He rightly pointed out that the shutdown would “devastate local economies throughout Eastern Arkansas and would cripple emergency services in the event of an accident or natural disaster.”

The late Phil Trenary, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, cited a post-9/11 study that showed that closing both of the city’s bridges would have a negative economic impact of about $11 billion to $15 billion per year, adding that the impact on business would be “significant to not only the local economy but to the national economy.”

The Flyer’s Toby Sells wrote a comprehensive cover story on the subject. We editorialized against the shutdown vociferously and often. Eventually, thanks to building public, political, and business opposition, the TDOT plan was mothballed, hopefully forever. The area’s leaders came to recognize that Memphis would be in big trouble if we ever got down to one bridge.

Oops.

As we all know, thanks to the discovery of a fissure in a structural beam on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, the feared “down-to-one-bridge” scenario has happened. And as was predicted in 2015, traffic is backed up on I-40, through the city, and on the south I-240 loop, as 80,000 vehicles a day are funneled across a narrow highway bridge built 70 years ago to handle one-fourth that amount of traffic.

Imagine if the break on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge had been discovered in, say, June 2017, during TDOT’s proposed shutdown. Or worse, imagine if something should go awry on the I-55 bridge now. Can you say Helena, Arkansas? Or Dyersburg, Tennessee? Those are the nearest two Mississippi River crossings. Local — and national — commerce would suffer a horrific hit.

But thankfully the TDOT bridge-closure didn’t happen in 2017. People raised hell. The bureaucrats were stopped. Now, with any luck, the “new bridge” gets fixed in the next couple months, and we get back to normal. But we need a new normal. There’s a lesson to be learned here, and the time to act on it is now.

We have two bridges, both over a half-century old, both facing deterioration and maintenance issues. It’s obvious that Memphis needs a third bridge across the Mississippi. And it isn’t just about Memphis. It’s about the entire interstate commerce system through the middle of America, North and South, relying on a rickety, aging infrastructure that was built for the 1960s and 1970s. A new bridge addresses current and future issues. It could integrate with the I-69 corridor and maybe even incorporate space for future high-speed rail. Why not think big?

It’s not like we’d be asking for the moon. St. Louis has six major bridges across the Mississippi. Davenport, Iowa, has three. Hell, Dubuque, Iowa, has two bridges. We’re tied with Dubuque, people. It’s in our interest and in the country’s interest to plan for the future, not to wait until the two extant bridges fall completely apart. Officeholders and business leaders from Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi need to get together and form a commission to explore the best way to get this moving.

Patching a crack with overlaid slabs of steel is a temporary solution, a band-aid that doesn’t address the overarching issues of a deteriorating infrastructure. Moving toward getting a new bridge should become a priority now — not when we’re forced to deal with another bridge shutdown. We’ve been shown a glimpse of the future. It’s time to face it, realistically.

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News Blog News Feature

Crews Wrap Up First Phase of Bridge Repair

(Credit: Tennessee Department of Transportation) An image from the Hernando DeSoto Bridge shows a riveted steel plate along the damaged section of the bridge.

The first phase of repairs for the Hernando DeSoto Bridge are complete, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials announced Tuesday.

The agency said Kiewit Infrastructure Group, the contractor hired for the bridge repair project, “worked 24-hour shifts installing fabricated steel plates on each side of the fractured member to secure the bridge for permanent repairs.”

“Phase one is complete!” TDOT exclaimed in a Tuesday news update.

Kiewit will now begin cleaning the worksite and extending the platform. In phase two, the damaged piece of the bridge will be removed and replaced. This phase must be complete before the bridge can reopen to traffic.

TDOT officials said the restriping project at the I-55 and Crump interchange “is working” to improve traffic flow there. Traffic data show a 40 percent reduction in travel time from Monday, May 17th to Monday, May 24th; a 47-minute delay was reduced to 27 minutes, TDOT said.

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TDOT Releases Aviation Economic Impact Report

CREDIT: Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

Aviation is a key part of Tennesse’s annual GDP

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has released the results of a year-long Statewide Aviation Economic Impact Study. The report, which began as a partnership between Kimley-Horn and TDOT, zeros in on the economic impact of public-use airports statewide.

In the report TDOT revealed that public-use airports contribute $40 billion to the state’s economy, comprising 11 percent of Tennessee’s GDP. Around $12 billion annually is brought in by the airports throughout the state with visitors spending comprising $8.6 billion annually. The vast majority of the $40 billion in revenue comes in the form of freight and cargo, which makes up a little over $19.2 billion.

“A safe, secure, efficient, and resilient aviation system is essential to our state’s physical, economic, and social health,” said Michelle Frazier, director of TDOT’s Aeronautics Division. “This report recognizes aviation as a driver of the economy, including economic recovery.”

Throughout the state, TDOT found close to 7 million out-of-state visitors traveled through one of Tennessee’s 78 airports. The airport system statewide supports 220,936 jobs and 450 businesses.

“Tennessee’s 78 public-use airports are critical components of the state’s transportation network, linking and providing access to regional, national, and global transportation systems,” said TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright.

For their report TDOT divided the state into four sections. Memphis International Airport falls into region 4, which was the second most profitable out of the four total regions. The Memphis International Airport alone brought in $6.4 billion, while the General DeWitt Spain Airport in north Memphis brought in another $31.6 million for the state. The Memphis International Airport is also the nation’s busiest cargo airport due to housing FedEx’s Express Global Hub.

Memphis International Airport is undergoing a remodel and modernization project that would add in much-needed consolidation and structural improvements.

The full report can be read on TDOT’s website.

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Partnership Formed to Combat PPE Waste

The Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, and Keep Tennessee Beautiful announced a three-way partnership on Tuesday, August 18th. The partnership aims to reduce personal protective equipment litter and educate the public on proper PPE and single-use mask disposal.

“This partnership is a response to a rise in PPE litter, which TDOT has begun to notice on rights-of-way, and how we, as state agencies, can work together to share one impactful message,” TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright said.

TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright

Through the partnership, the groups will release a series of posts highlighting proper PPE disposal. Posts and additional messaging will be shared electronically by all three entities and made available through KTnB and their statewide network of affiliates. Proper PPE disposal has also been worked into TDOT’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” litter prevention campaign.

All social media posts will center around three main points:

  • Single-use masks, gloves, and wipes should not be placed into any recycling containers or disposed of on the ground. Improper disposal creates health and environmental hazards.
  • All PPE should be properly disposed of in a trash receptacle.
  • Wearing a reusable or cloth mask instead of single-use masks can reduce the amount of PPE waste going to landfills and help fight the spread of COVID-19.

“In these unusual times, unusual problems arise, and the litter of personal protective equipment is an example,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said. “We encourage all Tennesseans to be mindful of this issue and maintain their commitment to the beauty of our state. We are grateful to TDOT and Keep Tennessee Beautiful for their partnership in this effort.”

TDOT spends $15 million annually on litter pickup and prevention education. Through its efforts, the amount of roadside litter has decreased by 43 percent since 2006. Despite this, nearly 100 million pieces of litter occur on Tennessee roadsides at any given time.

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Record Number to Travel in Tennessee, Nationwide This Holiday

A record number of Tennesseans are expected to travel this holiday season.

The auto group AAA predicts that 2.76 million Tennesseans will travel this year between Saturday, December 21st and Wednesday, January 1st.

That’s a 4 percent increase over last year. Nationwide, 115.6 million Americans are expected to travel during the holiday season. That’s 4.3 million more than last year and the highest travel volume since AAA began tracking the numbers 20 years ago.

“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Paula Twidale, vice president of AAA travel. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”

Of the 2.76 million Tennesseans expected to travel over the next week, AAA anticipates 2.59 million will travel by car, 74,000 by plane, and 97,500 will take trains, buses, cruise ships, or other modes of transportation.

TDOT

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is halting all construction-related lane closures between noon on Friday (today) and 6 a.m. on Thursday, January 2nd.

“With 2.59 million motorists expected to travel Tennessee roadways during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, keeping traffic moving and getting motorists to their destinations safely is our top priority,” said TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright. “As always, please wear your seatbelt, reduce your speed, avoid distractions, and never drink and drive.”

A few long-term lane closures will still be in effect for safety reasons, and workers may still be on-site in some construction zones. TDOT reminds drivers to obey all posted speed limits, including the slower speed limits posted in construction zones.

Drivers convicted of speeding through work zones when workers are present face a fine of $250 to $500 plus court fees.

Stay up to date on Tennessee road conditions here.

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News News Blog

Record Number of Travelers Expected to Hit State Highways This Week


A record number of Tennesseans are expected to hit the road this Independence Day.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), 985,000 drivers are expected to be on the state’s roads this week. That’s nearly 5 percent more than the number of Tennesseans that traveled this time last year.

The rise state’s rise in travelers follows the national trend, as AAA estimates a record number of Americans — 41.4 million — are expected to travel by automobile this week. That’s 1.9 million more than last year.

AAA said the busiest day for driving will likely be Wednesday.

In order to make travel smoother for the nearly 1 million drivers expected to be on the state’s highways this week, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will suspend all construction-related lane closures beginning at noon on Wednesday until 6 a.m. on Monday.

“It is estimated that 985,000 motorists will travel Tennessee’s interstates and state routes this July 4th holiday,” TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright said. “To help motorists reach their destinations safely and without unnecessary delays, we are suspending lane closures during this holiday travel time.”

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Still, workers could be present in construction zones where reduced speed limits will remain in effect. Speeding in work zones could result in a $250 to $500 fine, according to TDOT.

AAA attributes the increase in drivers in part to lower gas prices compared to this time last year.

Memphis’s average price for a gallon of regular gas decreased by about 17 cents from this time last year.

The average price for regular gas in Memphis as of Tuesday is $2.43 per gallon. That’s a little less than Nashville’s average of $2.48 per gallon and slightly more than Chattanooga’s and Knoxville’s average prices of $2.36 and $2.39 per gallon respectively.

Across the country, gas is most expensive in California where the average price per gallon is $3.77. The country’s lowest gas prices are currently just south of Memphis in Mississippi. A gallon currently averages $2.34 there.



Try AAA’s gas cost calculator to see how much your travel plans will cost you. 

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Lamar to Get $300M Upgrade

CREDIT: Google Maps

Google Maps

Lamar close to Holmes Road.

Lamar Avenue is set for projects totaling $300 million from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to help ease traffic on the congested road.

State and local officials are slated to announce the details of the projects in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

But TDOT said Monday that Lamar will be widened from four lanes to six from the border of Tennessee and Mississippi to the six-lane section at Getwell. Also, three interchanges will be will be upgraded to interchanges.

The following are set to speak at tomorrow’s news conference: TDOT Commissioner John Schroer, Sen. Mark Norris, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, Greater Memphis Chamber president Phil Ternary.