Travis Brickey
TDOT, Community Relations Officer
 Office: 865.594.0161
Mobile: 865.755.9960

TDOT Media Advisory
Traffic Flow Changed on Greenway Drive

Knoxville, Tenn. --- As part of the ongoing SmartFIX40 project, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced today that access from Greenway Drive to southbound Broadway and from southbound Broadway, left onto Greenway Drive will be closed effective Tuesday, April 15, 2008. After the traffic change, Greenway Drive traffic will be limited to right in, right out access to Broadway.  The median crossover will close on Tuesday, April 15.  Signs are being installed to alert Greenway motorists of the upcoming changes.

Currently, the nearby exit ramp traffic from westbound I-640 to Broadway frequently backs up onto I-640 during peak travel times.  With the increased traffic on I-640 during the closure of I-40 in downtown Knoxville, TDOT has determined this backup is a safety concern.  As a result, once the left turns onto Greenway are prohibited, right on red will be allowed at the foot of the exit ramp from westbound I-640, allowing northbound traffic to move more efficiently.

SmartFIX40 is TDOT’s single most expensive construction project in its 90-year history. Broken into two separate construction contracts, SmartFIX40 has a price tag of approximately $190 million. SmartFIX40 is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up highway construction. The process involves closing the primary roadway to allow around-the-clock work that is uninterrupted by traffic in order to dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete the project, thereby reducing the long-term inconvenience to motorists. The SmartFIX40 project will save over two years of construction time.