As a citizen of the state of Tennessee, I am horrified by the constant cuts the state has been making at TDOT..
The latest incident on 8/12/2024 on I-24 at the 184 Mile marker.
TDOT had issues with the drains located on I-24. The reason for the drainage issue was because a few months ago there was a vehicle that was traveling East bound on I-24 and their tire got the drainage grate and the grate collapsed. The solution was to cover the drain with a plate of steel which hindered this drainage.
Which is what caused this issue.
This steel plate was overlooked. This was because the governor rolled out this epic program and the major components of the program is cuts.
Cuts in staff, forcing out state employees with years of public service, replacing them with undertrained independent contractors with little training. Training that used to be a year long is cramped into 2 weeks of training.
Cuts to project managers where current project managers have to juggle more projects.
That leads to mistakes where drains that where covered are probably overlooked.
I believe this is only the beginning of the trouble we are going to start to experience on the states roadways.
TDOT manages the fog zone on I-72 from the 25 mile marker to 45 mile marker and the truck run away ramps on I-24 on top of Mounteagle mountain. That has to be monitored 24/7.
With cuts to qualified staff, it only raises the risk of danger to the public. With the TMC (Traffic Management Center) located in key places in each region to maximize response time for emergency services.
Kimberly Posey Smith