TDOT Opens SmartFIX40 Community Center and Project Office

Knoxville, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is pleased to announce the opening of the SmartFIX40 Community Center and Project Office Thursday. TDOT officials along with Mayor Bill Haslam, representatives from Knox County and the surrounding neighborhoods cut the ribbon to officially mark the opening of the offices.

“This project will impact Knoxville in a big way and it’s imperative to minimize inconveniences to citizens. TDOT’s SmartFIX40 Community Center has done just that by providing a great way to communicate with the public,” said Mayor Haslam.

“The City of Knoxville, members of the legislature, and the surrounding neighborhoods have all played a very important role in the development of the SmartFIX40 project,” said Judy Steele, Director, TDOT Community Relations Division. ”The SmartFIX40 Community Center was developed to provide the community with a place to go to get information and to get answers to questions. This building will be a valuable resource for the community and the entire city of Knoxville.”

Visitors can view photographs of the project as well as maps, timelines and diagrams at the center. Representatives from TDOT and the SmartFIX40 consultant working with the state, Wilbur Smith Associates, will also be available to answer any questions about the project.

“ I’m delighted with the cooperative spirit TDOT has offered this community and I look forward to working with the department in the future,” said State Senator Tim Burchett.

SmartFIX is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up construction. It involves closing the primary roadway at a designated project 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 inconveniences to drivers.

In the SmartFIX40 project, James White Parkway will be closed for nine months in 2007, and I-40 through traffic will be rerouted onto I-640 for 14 months starting in the spring of 2008. Local traffic will have access to downtown at all times. Over two years of traffic delays, lane closures and motorist frustrations will be avoided by allowing construction crews the opportunity to work without restriction from moving traffic while traffic is rerouted from I-40. I-40 through downtown Knoxville carries an average of 103,000 vehicles a day.