Tennessee Department of Transportation
John Schroer, Commissioner

I-69 Corridor - Legislation

(From the Feb. 7, 2000, "I-69 Corridor 18 Special Environmental Study")

The Corridor has been supported by Congressional mandates since 1991. It was first approved as a high priority corridor from Indianapolis to Memphis in the 1991 ISTEA legislation. In 1993, it was further amended by Congress to extend from Memphis to Houston. The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 further extended the corridor to include the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21), signed into law on June 9, 1998; again redefined Corridor 18 and officially designated it as Interstate 69. The current legislative definition (1999) of Corridor 18 includes the following stipulations:

Includes I-69 from Port Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Ontario, Canada to Indianapolis

Includes I-94 from Port Huron through Detroit (including the Ambassador Bridge interchange) to Chicago, Illinois

Requires the corridor to follow the "alignment" generally identified in the Special Issues Study in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas (from Corridor 18, 1997)

Provides for a connection from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to the corridor identified in the Special Issues Study in the vicinity of Monticello, Arkansas

Includes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley:

U.S. 77 from the Mexican border to U.S. 59 in Victoria, Texas

U.S. 281 from the Mexican border to U.S. 59, then following U.S. 59 to Victoria, Texas

The Corpus Christi Northside Highway and Rail Corridor from the intersection of U.S. 77 and I-37 to U.S. 181

FM 511 from U.S. 77 to the Port of Brownsville

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed in 1992 and has resulted in additional traffic demands and an increase in international freight movement. The I-69 Corridor is one of several high priority corridors being evaluated to address the needs associated with the increase in goods movements between the three NAFTA partners.