Friday, May 09, 2008
Pretty quiet around these parts
2008 is shaping up to be one of the quietest road construction seasons Nashville has seen in years. The only significant projects going on right now, according to TDOT, are a bridge deck rehabilitation on the TN 155/Thompson Lane overpass over I-65 on the south side, some resurfacing on TN 155/White Bridge Road on the west side and TN 254/Old Hickory Blvd/Bell Road on the southeast side, a bridge replacement on US 70/Lebanon Rd over the Stones River in Hermitage, and soome pothole patching and guardrail repair in various locations. No real major projects going on right now in Metro Nashville/Davidson County! Murfreesboro, as always, has a few projects going on, and there's an interchange modification on I-40 in Mt. Juliet and some bridge painting along I-40 in Dickson. That's about it!
This year, it seems, most of TDOT's resources are focused on Smartfix40 in Knoxville, which is indeed a very important project. I guess if the economy were in better shape and gas tax revenues were higher, they would also be working on Phase II of the I-40/Briley Pkwy/White Bridge Road interchange rebuild and the widening of I-65 south of Franklin.
This year, it seems, most of TDOT's resources are focused on Smartfix40 in Knoxville, which is indeed a very important project. I guess if the economy were in better shape and gas tax revenues were higher, they would also be working on Phase II of the I-40/Briley Pkwy/White Bridge Road interchange rebuild and the widening of I-65 south of Franklin.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Nothing to do today, and it's great!
It's so nice not having anything to do today.
Yesterday was 7 days straight that I've had to work, and I'm finally off today. I might mow the grass later on today, but for now it's nice to just relax. Angie is off too, so it's even nicer.
As far as area roads are concerned, I've noticed a couple of suspicious new signs along I-24 in Rutherford Co. I can't remember exactly what they were for, but I know that one was eastbound before TN 266/Sam Ridley Pkwy. in Smyrna and the other was westbound somewhere in Murfreesboro. They were BGSs for points of interest, and they had the exit tab centered above the main sign! Now Tennessee has been justifying tabs since the mid 90's, so I find it odd that they may be changing their style. I don't think the MUTCD has suggested a change to this standard recently.
Personally, when it comes to BGS or BBrS signage for points of interest off of exits, I prefer it when they put "EXIT XX" at the bottom of the main sign and forget the tab altogether. Tennessee used to do this regularly, and this is Kentucky's standard. The tabs on these signs seem to make it confusing. One might think that the point of interest was the only thing off of that exit.
In other Tennessee road news, as of 5/1/2008 at 00:00, a two-mile or so stretch of I-40 is now officially closed down in Downtown Knoxville. Traffic wanting to get through Knoxville along the I-40 corridor is being detoured onto I-640. Access to Downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee is still possible by following I-40 to either of its temporary ends. This 14-month closure will completely reconstruct what was considered to be the worst stretch of I-40 anywhere across the country. http://www.smartfix40.com is TDOT's official website for the project.
Personally, I spoke with my brother-in-law yesterday, who travelled through Knoxville the other day to visit his folks in South Carolina. He says that I-640 flowed well, and he wasn't delayed in traffic at all. Now I believe it was after rush hour when he travelled through there, but at least there was no 24/7 gridlock on I-640. What's interesting is that I recently heard that I-75 through traffic is encouraged to take I-275 and I-40 through the Downtown area in order to ease the burden on I-640. This is a good suggestion, and I hope that I-75 traffic follows that advice.
Yesterday was 7 days straight that I've had to work, and I'm finally off today. I might mow the grass later on today, but for now it's nice to just relax. Angie is off too, so it's even nicer.
As far as area roads are concerned, I've noticed a couple of suspicious new signs along I-24 in Rutherford Co. I can't remember exactly what they were for, but I know that one was eastbound before TN 266/Sam Ridley Pkwy. in Smyrna and the other was westbound somewhere in Murfreesboro. They were BGSs for points of interest, and they had the exit tab centered above the main sign! Now Tennessee has been justifying tabs since the mid 90's, so I find it odd that they may be changing their style. I don't think the MUTCD has suggested a change to this standard recently.
Personally, when it comes to BGS or BBrS signage for points of interest off of exits, I prefer it when they put "EXIT XX" at the bottom of the main sign and forget the tab altogether. Tennessee used to do this regularly, and this is Kentucky's standard. The tabs on these signs seem to make it confusing. One might think that the point of interest was the only thing off of that exit.
In other Tennessee road news, as of 5/1/2008 at 00:00, a two-mile or so stretch of I-40 is now officially closed down in Downtown Knoxville. Traffic wanting to get through Knoxville along the I-40 corridor is being detoured onto I-640. Access to Downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee is still possible by following I-40 to either of its temporary ends. This 14-month closure will completely reconstruct what was considered to be the worst stretch of I-40 anywhere across the country. http://www.smartfix40.com is TDOT's official website for the project.
Personally, I spoke with my brother-in-law yesterday, who travelled through Knoxville the other day to visit his folks in South Carolina. He says that I-640 flowed well, and he wasn't delayed in traffic at all. Now I believe it was after rush hour when he travelled through there, but at least there was no 24/7 gridlock on I-640. What's interesting is that I recently heard that I-75 through traffic is encouraged to take I-275 and I-40 through the Downtown area in order to ease the burden on I-640. This is a good suggestion, and I hope that I-75 traffic follows that advice.
