TDOT seeks input on Chattanooga's I-75/I-24 split

photo Motorists travel northbound on I-75 approaching the I-75/I-24 split on Monday.

IF YOU GOThe public information meeting concerning the I-24/I-75 interchange will be held at 5 p.m. Oct 16 at the East Ridge Community Center, 1517 Tombras Ave. State transportation officials will go over details of the project and environmental and noise assessments. After the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. Members of the public will be able to submit written comments to TDOT for 21 days after the meeting.

State highway officials are calling on residents for input as they go through an environmental assessment of changes to Tennessee's interstate gateway. But construction on the proposed $89 million retooling of the Interstate 75/I-24 interchange is not likely to start this year.

A public information meeting is planned for the project Oct. 16 in East Ridge. Tennessee Department of Transportation Project Manager Chester Sutherland said he hopes residents will come out to hear about the status of the project -- and to share their ideas.

Sutherland said TDOT officials will have some information displays and have a question-and-answer session with residents.

Officials will go over the initial 2012 request for changes to the interstate, explain current environmental rules and findings from a noise study. Sutherland said they will also explain the next steps in the development process.

Afterward, residents will be able to ask questions of staff directly or submit questions in writing for up to 21 days after the meeting.

But Sutherland cautioned that the meeting is mainly for public education. Designs for proposed changes to the interstate junction have not been made, he said.

"We are not funded yet for preliminary design," he said.

Jennifer Flynn, a spokeswoman for TDOT, said improvements to the interchange are estimated at $89 million. But that total could change after environmental assessments are complete. Design funding could be available next year, she said.

"Our new three-year plan will come out next spring. We're a pay-as-you-go state. We can't get these things done as quickly as other states can, but we also are not covered in debt," she said.

The main goal is to keep residents in the loop, Flynn said.

"We want people who are even the least bit curious about this to please come out and give us input," she said.

The proposed changes are due to findings from a 2006 road safety audit of the interchange, which is the main artery for traffic coming from Georgia into the Volunteer State, Flynn said.

The audit found there was a high rate of truck rollovers on I-75's northbound and southbound ramps. And there was a high rate of rear-end and sideswipe collisions on I-75's northbound lane, due to short merging zones between the Ringold and I-24 interchanges, she said.

Traffic volumes at various parts of the interchange range from 107,000 vehicles to 124,000 vehicles per day, she said.

"As traffic volumes have increased along the I-24 and I-75 corridors, and with continued growth in the area, the existing interchange at I-75 and I-24 will become more congested and will exceed capacity resulting in increased concern for the interchange safety," Flynn said in an email.

Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.

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