I-69 Decision Made for Northern and Southern Portions of Millington to Dyersburg Section
TDOT commits to further study for middle portion

Nashville, Tenn.--The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced today that the department will recommend a portion of Alternative R for the proposed section of Interstate 69, between Millington and Dyersburg, but will continue to study the middle section of that alternative before finalizing that recommendation. Public comments strongly favored Alternative R (also referred to as the “red line” or “west line”) as the “preferred alternative” for the northern and southern section of this proposed segment of I-69. However, TDOT will move forward with an additional study and consideration of a crossover alternative near the communities of Halls and Gates, before making a recommendation on the alternative for the portion of the route from north of Lauderdale County to the Hatchie River.

“This decision is based on our review of the information in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), as well as comments received during the recent round of public hearings and comments received from the various resource agencies,” stated TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “This new interstate will have a tremendous impact on west Tennessee and we must take the time we need to carefully consider all viable options.”

The selection of the western corridor as the “preferred alternative” for both the northern and southern sections results from the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) process which evaluated a wide variety of environmental issues. This draft document was made available for public review and the information was presented at 4 corridor public hearings in November, 2005. Issues evaluated in the DEIS included land use, air quality, noise evaluation, hydrological impacts, ecological impacts, cultural impacts, farmland impacts, and hazardous materials.

As part of the DEIS, two main alternative corridors were studied. Corridor R (”red line”) extended from the State Route 385 (Paul Barrett Parkway) to the west of Millington, Covington, Ripley and Dyersburg and west of US 51 (SR 3) to I-155 in Dyersburg. Corridor G (”green line”) extended to the east of US 51 (SR 3) from State Route 385 (Paul Barrett Parkway) to the I-155/US-412/US-51 interchange in Dyersburg. Variations of these corridors with crossovers were also studied, although a west to east crossover north of Lauderdale County was not previously studied.

A Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) will study a west to east crossover alternative. This study will be completed prior to the department announcing a “preferred alternative” for the middle section of this proposed segment of Interstate 69.

The next step in the project process is the preparation of a SDEIS to specifically study this new 7-mile crossover option. The study is anticipated to take approximately 6 months to complete and will include additional surveys, environmental field studies and opportunities for public review and comment.

At the conclusion of this process, the department will make a final recommendation on the overall “preferred alternative” for the entire segment from State Route 385 (Paul Barrett Parkway) in Shelby County north to the
I-155/US-412/US-51 interchange in Dyer County. Once an overall “preferred alternative” has been selected, a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) will be prepared for the entire corridor.

The proposed project will be built to interstate design standards and will consist of a four-lane divided, access controlled facility with interchanges at major crossroads. This proposed segment is approximately 65 miles in length.

The primary purpose of the proposed project is to advance the completion of High Priority Corridor 18 and Congressionally-designated Interstate 69. The proposed project would complete Segment of Independent Utility #8 of the High Priority Corridor 18, identified in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (ISTEA).

Additionally, the project is intended to address projected future traffic issues along the US 51 corridor, improve substandard or inadequate roadway system linkages along the corridor, improve substandard or inadequate modal connections along the corridor and facilitate economic development in the immediate area of the corridor.

Please see attached map for route locations, or go to this news release in the TDOT media room at www.state.tn.us/tdot

Click here for an enlarged view of the map in PDF format.