A 16-mile toll bridge connecting Soddy-Daisy and Harrison would cost about $350 million and would not be ready until at least 2015, officials said Friday morning.

Ed Cole, TDOT’s chief of environment and planning, walked a group of the state general assembly and county commissioners through research factors the state is considering before moving forward with plans for the toll roadway and bridge across the Tennessee River and northern Hamilton County.

“It’ll be our first effort at tolling,” said Mr. Cole. He said the bridge is in test phase one of three that will determine need and financial risk. The phases are complicated and will take years to research completely.

“This county is divided by a river. We’ve basically got two counties,” said Sheriff Billy Long.

This connector is one of at least five Tennessee projects vying for TDOT’s one pilot bridge project spot. The Tennessee Tollway Act, passed with amendments in June 2007, allows TDOT to develop and operate toll roads. TDOT is currently limited to two pilot toll projects: one bridge and one roadway. Other proposals near Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis and Gatlinburg are being considered as well. It is possible that the general assembly will change the act and allow TDOT to accept more toll projects.

Rep. Bill Harmon (D-Dunlap) said it is tempting to earmark projects, “but let’s find the good projects,” he said.

The bridge committee plans to rely solely on tolls to pay for the roadway, whose low cost estimate is $350 million. The project is not part of county or state budgets, nor is it in the current regional transportation plan, though it is part of an older Chattanooga Bypass plan. Citizens must approve a toll road before it can be built.

Mr. Cole’s presentation outlined the project connecting US-27 at SR-111 and I-75 at exit 20 in Bradley County with a bridge over the Tennessee River, 27 minor streams and three interchanges at SR-312 (Birchwood Pike), SR-58 and SR-312 (Harrison Pike). Though the project would extend from Appalachian Corridors J to K, the new road would not be part of that system and so is ineligible for Appalachian funding.

County Mayor Claude Ramsey said that though the tollway may tie into I-75’s exit 20, that interchange should be restructured with TDOT money, not toll money, because it is already in line to be updated.

Rep. Jim Cobb (R-Spring City) said he prefers tying the connector to I-75 further south between mile markers 6 and 11 to utilize an existing telephone line right-of-way there.

TDOT’s research indicated that traffic numbers along Highway 58 stretch between 8,500 cars per day to as many as 34,400 per day south of 312, with traffic concentrated around Highway 153. By 2030, areas of Highway 153, Highway 58 and US-27 are expected to fail the car load.

Based on that information, TDOT projected that about 20,000 vehicles would take advantage of the proposed toll bridge and roadway, but that that figure would only go up to 24,000 by 2030. Mayor Ramsey said that figure seemed “a little low” for 20 years and that northern Hamilton County is developing quickly. He said the new roadway would relieve 27-South and I-24 of traffic that also clogs downtown Chattanooga on its way to I-75.

TDOT said the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant evacuation plan clears out 85,000 people in a 10-mile radius of the plant. The proposed roadway is within two miles of the plant, but TDOT said the new bridge would not impact existing evacuation routes.

Mayor Ramsey said the routes would change for the better with the bridge. He said evacuees would be able to move east and west instead of being confined to north-south routes.

Beth Jones, executive director of the Southeast Tennessee Development District, suggested building the roadway in stages. Mayor Ramsey agreed and said they could build from 111 to Highway 58 and Enterprise South first and connect Highway 58 to exit 20 or I-75 later. Mayor Ramsey said Enterprise South traffic is a strain on Highway 153.

The proposed connector could serve as an important link between Cleveland industry and the Cumberland Plateau, though TDOT expects that freight travelers, who go through Knoxville now, would only save 30 minutes.

On a more personal note, state legislators said some Sale Creek students loop through three counties to get to their high school.

The bridge would make a 15-minute drive out of what is now almost an hour’s trek from Soddy-Daisy to Harrison.

Six cities have endorsed the connector roadway: Lakesite was first, Soddy-Daisy, Chattanooga, Collegedale, Dayton and Rhea County.

TDOT studies showed that 70 percent of the public approve of the project. The pilot projects must meet environmental and fiscal standards held to every TDOT project.

-- Tolls --

County Mayor Ramsey suggested using TDOT money for intersection approaches, but Mr. Cole said it was best to assume most of the project would be paid for with tolls to make the project more attractive to legislators.

Mr. Cole used Nashville’s Hadley Bend Connector project research to estimate that Hamilton County tolls would cost $1.50 in 2016 and $2.50 in 2030, using 2007 money rates. He said that nationwide, frequent tollway users do not get a reduced rate, but that perhaps tolls at off-peak times could be less than peak drive times.

-- TDOT’s Research --

Mr. Cole said these meetings are to make sure all information is being considered. The TDOT team will revise the proposal to include the local input from this meeting. More information will be compiled by January. TDOT will report to the general assembly next year with more detailed plans to determine Hamilton County’s running in the project line.