Governor Bill Haslam and Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner John Schroer on Thursday announced the state has awarded $297 million in contracts from bids accepted in December for road and bridge construction projects – the first major awarding of IMPROVE Act projects and the largest such bidding process in TDOT’s history.
With increased transportation funds provided through the IMPROVE Act and TDOT’s federal budget, 72 new projects will be under construction across the state in the coming weeks.
Within the first year of the IMPROVE Act’s implementation, 288 – 30 percent – of the 962 projects designated in the legislation are underway, it was stated.
“Providing a safe, reliable and debt-free transportation network was our main goal in passing the IMPROVE Act and we are now delivering dozens of much needed road and bridge projects across the state – all while cutting the grocery tax and attracting manufacturing jobs to Tennessee,” Governor Haslam said. “These investments in Tennessee’s infrastructure will ensure the next generation of Tennesseans will have a robust transportation system.”
This is TDOT’s first bidding process utilizing significant IMPROVE Act funds, along with federal dollars available since the start of the new federal fiscal year, and includes several key IMPROVE Act projects, including:
- Widening of US 411 in Jefferson County;
- Widening of SR 149/13 in Montgomery County;
- Widening of US 431 in Robertson County;
- Widening of SR 14 in Shelby County; and
- Widening of SR 109 in Wilson County
The list of projects also includes several bridge rehabilitations, safety projects and the resurfacing of more than 80 miles of interstates and state routes.
Later this year, TDOT anticipates project bids to increase by about $100 million, with calendar year bids totaling more than $1 billion. TDOT will also initiate design/build contracts on reconstruction of I-440 in Nashville and the I-24/I-75 interchange in Chattanooga.
“From planning, to environmental, to design and construction, TDOT’s staff is working diligently to move these important projects forward,” Commissioner Schroer said. “We are extremely focused on meeting the expectations of our customers by getting projects out the door and completed on time.”
For more information on all projects included in the IMPROVE Act, please visit TDOT’s interactive road and bridge construction project map.