Chattanooga is the only major city in Tennessee that does not have a bypass.
I don't think the widening of lanes will help the traffic problems we have.
The plans for a bypass have been made. Spend the money on the bypass, not on things that won't help.
Why won't TDOT do it?
Ernie McCarson
Ooltewah
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Where should the Tennessee Department of Transportation build a bypass? They can’t, because it needs to go through North Georgia. And traffic on I-24 in Chattanooga just is not a big problem in Atlanta. It’s needed no doubt, I just don’t think it will ever happen.
George Odom
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My wife came up with this: A bypass with mo exits. Start around I-75 Ooltewah and bypass downtown ending near I59/I24. Also another to end around Ringgold for I -7S.
You could also build a “trucks only” highway to relieve congestion.
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Well, now, I have some perennial gripes about Interstate Highway construction. Primarily, what I see is 3-to-5 years of utter destruction and disruption, followed by (at best) 3-to-5 years of somewhat smooth running, and then the hateful cycle begins again.
As far as local 'improvement' projects go, I never see any truly local innovation. What I see is always local politicians copy-catting something they've seen somewhere else -- whether it's needed here or not, whether it fits here or not, whether we can afford it or not, we're going to do this, that, and the other!
But in the case of a bypass, the monkey-see-monkey-do approach isn't unreasonable. It's a fair argument that we are the only major city in Tennessee that doesn't have a bypass. In response to the first contrary response, even half a bypass would be better than none, and the northern half of a Chattanooga bypass would be entirely in Tennessee.
Then, for the southern half of a proper near-full-circle bypass, all we've gotta do is to convince Trenton (a logical starting place already served by I-59 from I-24), Lafayette, and Dalton how much they will benefit by having all that extra traffic passing through or near them -- millions of people annually spending their rest-stop money in those Georgia county seats rather than in Chattanooga.
And don't forget, when it comes to paying for Interstate highways, it's the federal government that puts up most of the money. I assume Georgia politicians are no different from those we have around here, and can be easily convinced: "Shucks, that new road through here will pay for itself in no time!"
Larry Cloud
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All to make a few people happy.
If you only knew how long the negotiations lasted before they made the cut in Missionary Ridge instead of doing, what some wanted, put another tunnel through the ridge; you can speculate about how long the putting a by pass on I-24 would be. There are too many entities that would be involved. You have Chattanooga, Hamilton County and the Chattanooga-Chickamauga National Military Park to deal with. and probably even more entities.
Building I-24 was interesting to watch. I have seen multiple bull dozers and other earth moving equipment rust into scrap iron before that event was finished. To be really accurate, I will have to tell you that two prominent women, longtime residents of Chattanooga, were very influential in the process, and put off I-24 for between eight and 10 years. I knew both of those women well, and could tell you that you would rather sand paper a wildcat in a phone booth than to make either one of them angry - God knows, I knew them both well.
You do not want anything like I-285 in Atlanta. The problem is that you do not even want to drive around Atlanta on I-85, through Atlanta on I-75, especially during rush hours. My advice is for you to move.
Raleigh C. Perry
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Has anyone looked at a map lately? The area west of the city is covered with mountains and ridges. There is no way to build a bypass highway through that stretch of wilderness without going over both Lookout and Signal Mountains. You might also have to climb up Elder Mountain before it would work. The alternative would be to build extensive and expensive tunnels.
A few routes would work on the east side. You could follow Ooltewah-Ringgold Road up the base of White Oak Mountain. You could follow Highway 60 from Dalton to Cleveland. You could even persuade Georgia to widen U.S. 411 from Cartersville to the state line to link up with the widened section of U.S. 411 in Tennessee.
A bypass would be next to impossible to build and might not get that much traffic anyway. Get real.
Michelle Rogers
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With the topography of Chattanooga and the surrounding area, it would be impossible to build a bypass, but with that said, several smaller projects concentrated on alleviating local bottle necks would be a better solution than one massive boondoggle.
Let’s be honest, any traffic diverted from 75 would be a step in the right direction, and we’ve been tempted with a bridge from Harrison to Soddy-Daisy for years. It would be a great start, as traffic going to Nashville off of 75 could be diverted to 111 / 8.
Secondly, another bridge, either at the dam or a little north connecting to Hixson Pike going to Lakesite, could help with the congestion that plagues those driving 153, which will only get worse with all the apartments being built.
Lastly, if Hwy. 28 was widened to 4 lanes, and bypassing Dunlap connecting to 111 there’s not necessarily a bypass, but definitely a scenic route that could be utilized for those going to Knoxville from 24 / 72 / 59.
And please don’t anyone suggest toll roads and bridges, as we already pay plenty in taxes to cover the expense of building roads and bridges.
Jay Reed
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There is a bypass in Chattanooga. I-75 is the bypass.
I-75 intersects with I-24. I-24 runs through Chattanooga.
Ron Thomas