TN.gov Newsroom

Enforcement Blitz Buckled Down on Those Not Buckled Up

Nashville, TN - Millions of travelers will hit the highways this summer and the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office is reminding drivers to Click It or Ticket.  In 2006, 983 people in Tennessee died in traffic crashes and 56 percent of those killed were not buckled up at the time of the deadly crash.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 209 of those killed would have been saved if they had worn their safety belt.  Today, the GHSO joined representatives from Georgia and Alabama to remind drivers of the dangers of traveling without a safety belt. 

Knoxville,Tenn. – A major transformation of Interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville is now underway.  At midnight on May 1, Tennessee Department of Transportation crews closed a short section of I-40 between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389).  The closure is part of the massive SmartFIX40 construction project that will totally reconstruct this segment of I-40 in just 14 months.  TDOT estimates by closing this section of I-40 for the work, they will save motorists two to three years of construction time and frustration.

Knoxville, Tenn. - The media will have several opportunities to interview key personnel involved in the SmartFIX40 project in the hours leading up to and following the closure of Interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville.

Available Via Satellite at 10:00 A.M. EDT/9:00 A.M. CDT Thursday, May 1

Nashville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation will take on its most ambitious construction task to date when it closes a short section of Interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville at 12:01 a.m. on May 1.  A short segment of I-40, located between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389) will be closed for at least 14 months while the interstate is totally reconstructed as part of the final phase of the SmartFIX40 project.  The SmartFIX40 project, which began in 2005, will be completed on or before June 30, 2009 and will save more than two to three years of construction time.

Knoxville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation will take on its most ambitious construction task to date when it closes a short section of Interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville at 12:01 a.m. on May 1.  A short segment of I-40, located between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389) will be closed for at least 14 months while the interstate is totally reconstructed as part of the final phase of the SmartFIX40 project.  The SmartFIX40 project, which began in 2005, will be completed on or before June 30, 2009 and will save more than two to three years of construction time.

Nashville, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Transportation today released details on the final alignment for improvements to US127 North in Cumberland and Fentress counties.  TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely announced that the project will move forward, following the alignment of the existing route, the majority of which will be designed as a four-lane divided roadway with a grass median.

Memphis, Tenn. — Motorists using either of the Mississippi River Bridges between Memphis and Arkansas should expect delays overnight Monday, April 28 and Tuesday April 29.  The Tennessee Department of Transportation will stop traffic on the approaches of the Interstate 40 (Hernando Desoto Bridge) and the Interstate 55 Bridge for thirty minutes intervals between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 5 a.m.  The delays are necessary so crews can install new overhead message boards. 

Knoxville, TN. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation is now one week away from the 14-month closure of a segment of I-40 in downtown Knoxville.  At 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, May 1, 2008, a short section of I-40, located between James White Parkway (Exit 388) and Hall of Fame Drive (Exit 389), will close for reconstruction as part of the final phase of the SmartFIX40 project.  This closure will allow around-the-clock work without any traffic interruptions.  The project will be completed on or before June 30, 2009 and will save at least two years of construction time.

Grants awarded through TDOT’s Aeronautics Division to 15 Tennessee Airports

Nashville, TN—Governor Phil Bredesen announced today that Aeronautics Grants totaling $791,627 have been approved for 14 Tennessee airports and two statewide aeronautics education programs.

Knoxville, TN. – The closure of I-40 in downtown Knoxville begins in just fifteen days on May 1 and tonight the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will begin the first of six major traffic shifts in conjunction with the ongoing SmartFIX40 project.