New And Wider Ramps Planned At Congested I-75, I-24 Intersection

  • Friday, October 17, 2014
  • Gail Perry
Jim Osment and Jennifer Flynn
Jim Osment and Jennifer Flynn

TDOT officials said at a public hearing Thursday night that a plan to help deal with congestion at the intersection of I-75 and I-24 includes additional and wider ramps.

Of seven alternative plans that had been proposed earlier, one was chosen to best fix the problems.

The drawings shown Thursday night at East Ridge City Hall based on this option are only concepts at this point, stressed Jim Osment, director of TDOT environmental division.

The proposed improvements include

·         Widening existing roads and ramps and increasing the ramp radii to provide a 55 mph design speed

·         I-24 ramps would be reconfigured to provide all entry and exit along the right side of I-75

·         Developing I-75 as the thru route.

·         To modify the circulation pattern of the Tennessee Welcome Center, a ramp is planned to run behind the buildings in an effort to eliminate weaving conditions along northbound I-75. This would also modify the westbound Ringgold Road to the northbound I-75 ramp. This will be designed to avoid the Camp Jordan Park conservation easement.

·        New ramps would be built between existing ones from 75 going north in order to keep the existing ones functioning while work is being done.

The public meeting was held to hear comments and answer questions about the planned changes to the I-75 at I-24 Interchange and to incorporate community concerns into the plans. What the locals know about an area enhances the planning of a project so problems are not missed when designing road improvements, said Mr. Osment.

This project has been in the works since 2002, but road work moves very slowly, said Mr. Osment. In Tennessee, roadwork is done as it is funded he said, and the administration attempts to balance maintenance with building projects each year as money is available. As of now, only the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been funded for this work. The NEPA process requires the evaluation of any potential social and environmental impacts the project may have.

The area included in the environmental studies ends at Belvoir Avenue to the west on I-24 and  East Brainerd Road to the east. The state line on I-75 is the stopping point to the south.

The whole process begins with a study of purpose and need. I-75 is a major north/south corridor that transitions into I-24 running east and west which connects to I-59 leading into Alabama. This translates into a lot of traffic, said Mr. Osment. I-75 handles 118,000 vehicles daily and I-24 has 112,000 each day. Truck traffic makes up 17 percent of the overall traffic now and is slated to increase in the future. This all contributes to congestion, which improvements to the interchange are designed to improve.

Improving safety is also a consideration with crash data from the site being used while evaluating and planning improvements. This area has statistics higher than average which is 5.75 compared to the state average of 3.5. This is one measurement of how well an interchange works. Truck roll-overs are common here as well as rear end and side swipes where weaving occurs near the visitor’s center, said Mr. Osment.

Another need is to improve circulation patterns of the existing Welcome Center to eliminate conditions that require weaving.

Studies are required to evaluate the impact on both the human and natural environment and will be coordinated with state and federal agencies. Included in the human environmental impact studies will be social, environmental justice, historic, archaeological, noise, recreational and air quality.

Studies to evaluate  the natural environment will include the impact on streams and wetlands, rare and endangered species, flood plains, terrestrial, caves, hazardous materials and geotechnical study.

This is the part of the project that is now funded and scheduled to begin next year in late summer or early fall. Some of these studies can only be done at certain parts of the year when certain plants are blooming or animals are nesting.

Among the issues raised by locals in attendance were changing signs to reflect actual road conditions such as the one heading north on I-75 toward Chattanooga. It appears from the sign there are two lanes on which to exit when in reality, two lanes quickly merge into one. Other comments were that the exit ramps are banked in the wrong direction and that southbound cars on I-75 must immediately try and cross cars coming from I-24 to get to Ringgold Road. Creating a dedicated exit only lane was suggested to alleviate that problem.

Using high tech equipment such as electronic signs could be used to give instructions rather than flash statistics about drunk drivers. Another area where traffic backs up is southbound on I-75 going into I-24. There are rear end collisions that might be avoided if it was possible to add an extra lane at that location. Another concern was to protect wetlands and streams in the area by building structures over rather than through them.

Comments and questions raised at the meeting were taken by a court reporter and will be incorporated into the design. Others can also be submitted to TDOT before Nov. 6.

TDOT contacts are Bob Allen, TDOT Environmental Division, (615) 741-3092, Bob.Allen@TN.gov and Chester Sutherland, TDOT Region 11, Chattanooga, (423) 510-1229, chester.sutherland@tn.gov. Comments can also be mailed to Tennessee Department of Transportation, attention Public Information Meeting Comments, Suite 700, James K. Polk building, 505 Deaderick St., Nashville, TN 37243-0332

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