NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE) -- If your daily commute includes I-440 you know what a mess it is and an unusually bitter winter hasn’t helped.
Department of Transportation engineer Will Reid says the critical, 30-year-old stretch of Nashville interstate has actually held up remarkably well.
“Typically for a concrete pavement we look at somewhere around 20 years, so it’s consistent with the fact that it’s deteriorated to a point where it needs some extra attention.”
Later this month TDOT will begin repairing the broken pavement and potholes on 440. The daily commute shouldn’t be disrupted too badly. Most of the work will be done at night and only one lane will be closed at a time.
TDOT was hoping to avoid these repairs because a larger, $130 million project to improve I-440 is scheduled to get underway later this year. Reid says the highway will be widened to three through lanes and safety improvements made.
“As you know we have a raised grass median out there. We’ve had eight fatalities associated with crossover crashes throughout this stretch of 440. We want to address that with reworking the median.”
I-440 has long been a traffic bottleneck for Nashville commuters and Reid says TDOT is looking for unique solutions.
“It’s often good for unique and challenging projects where you need to look to the private sector to bring some level of innovation. That’s why we’ve selected 440 for this because it has some of those unique characteristics.”
A contract for that larger project will be awarded this year, but the bulk of the construction will likely take place next summer.