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As work to widen Interstate 75 continues around the Ooltewah exit, Tennessee Department of Transportation officials are already looking at future expansions.
“If we don’t take a big corridor look at how the roadway system is working, we cannot prioritize where the No. 1 priorities are, where to spend our money,” Terry Gladden, of the department’s long-range planning division, told members of the public at an informational meeting Oct. 13 on TDOT's I-75 feasibility study project.
With a projected traffic volume of 98,800 vehicles per day in 2030 traveling I-75 versus its nearly complete six-lane capacity near the Ooltewah exit of 81,400 vehicles, for example, additional lanes and routes will be needed in the future, according to Gladden.
Although these specifics will not be known until closer to the end of the year, nearby possibilities include: two extra lanes around Ooltewah, an additional two lanes from the Interstate 24 junction to East Brainerd Road, widening southbound traffic to four lanes from East Brainerd Road to 153, and improving the I-75/I-24 interchange to provide three lanes of traffic for I-75 travelers.
“This is not just where problems are today,” said consultant Kenny Monroe, “it’s where they’re going to be in the future.”
Combining current congestion with a travel-planning model based on land use in the future as projected by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, TDOT and consultants devised a laundry list of several options in different categories from which to pick and choose for the most effect.
“There is not one project that’s going to solve all the problems,” Gladden said. “There’s no silver bullet. We expect the recommended improvements to include elements from each of the packages of solutions presented to the public, including additional lanes in some locations, some interchange modifications and Intelligent Transportation Systems management strategies.”
TDOT is looking at potentially constructing an alternate freight route which would bypass Chattanooga and could reduce traffic on I-75 by 13 to 17 percent, the amount which semi-trailer trucks currently make up.
“An alternative route bypassing Chattanooga would benefit both truck freight and passenger cars currently using I-75 in terms of congestion and travel time,” Gladden said. “The VW plant and other industries, such as McKee Foods, would also benefit from the additional new access and from the diversion of traffic from I-75 to the bypass.”
As proposed, this four-lane route would go from I-75 in Georgia to I-75 at the Hamilton/Bradley county line.
Other possibilities include widening the already existing state routes from Ringgold to connect with I-75 near US 64, north of Old Lee Highway, and over to the Bradley County line.
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