Updated: 5/1/2008 12:26:33 AM
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is embarking on an ambitious plan to widen Interstate 40 through downtown Knoxville. The effects of that plan will affect the lives of thousands of people for months to come.
At Midnight, May 1st, the interstate shut down between the James White Parkway exit and the Hall of Fame exit. Eastbound traffic can still exit at the JWP. For westbound drivers, Hall of Fame is the end of the line.
The changes don't come without pain, but TDOT says it will all be worth it in the end.
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Why SmartFIX40?
The SmartFIX40 project started in 2005 with the extension of Hall of Fame Drive, then continued with the closure of and improvements to the James White Parkway.
Then, over the past few months, work increased on Interstate 275 and Interstate 640 to prepare for more traffic. It all sets the stage for the historic shutdown of I-40 through downtown Knoxville.
When all is said and done, the project will have affected millions of motorists. Chief Engineer Paul Degges and Commissioner Gerald Nicely, two of TDOT's top leaders, helped make that unprecedented decision to shut down I-40.
"Anybody who's driven across the state through Knoxville knows when you get here, it's what was built back in the 60s," Degges said. "Certainly, there needs to be some improvements."
The plan is to save time on the project while maintaining fast access to downtown. It is expected to be complete 2 1/2 to 3 years faster than if TDOT did the work with traffic still flowing on one lane.
"It was obvious if you did it under normal process, under traffic, it would be an agonizing situation in downtown Knoxville," Nicely said.
So TDOT decided to defy the taboo and shut down I-40 through downtown Knoxville. It will take some getting used to, but ultimately TDOT leaders believe the public will see the merits of the plan once they take that smooth, wide drive in the summer of 2009.
His Name on the Line
Project superintendent Jeff Walker looks like he might be more at home on the range than on the road.
"I thought I wanted to be a rodeo man," Walker said. "That didn't work out too well, but the hat just stayed."
For the next 14 months, Walker will be riding herd over every piece of equipment and yard of concrete in the biggest roadway project he has ever undertaken. As many as 400 people will be working for Walker on a given day.
The first and second phases of the SmartFIX40 project were completed early. Walker has no plans to let this phase lag behind.
The contract with TDOT gives a powerful disincentive to delaying.
"A drop-dead due date, June 30," Walker said. "If I'm done, I get 7 million dollars. If I'm not done, then starts the $25,000 per day penalty."
The completion date named in the contract is June 30, 2009.
Some Will See Benefits to Detour
Some businesses are likely to see a lot more visitors during the length of the detour. The Raceway gas station off the I-640 Western Avenue exit is almost always busy, but workers expect even more customers once I-40 shuts down.
The I-640 detour will lead many drivers right past their doors.
"We hope to bring in a lot more people and do a lot more business than we have been," cashier Melanie Davenport said. "You know, with the gas prices being high, that's knocked a lot of business down, so we hope to get new people, new faces, and to experiment with travelers, hopefully."
Workers have not made any changes in anticipation of the increased traffic yet, but they do plan to advertise more.
Keeping Traffic Moving
Knoxville's Police Department is beefing up patrols on I-640 to get drivers there used to slowing down a bit. Diverting I-40 traffic to I-640 means one less viable detour, so preventing crashes is a top goal.
"That's going to be our goal on the interstate is to reduce the speed of motorists, therefore we will reduce the number of crashes, and we will reduce the likelihood of having to use one of the contingency plans of shutting down the interstate," KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk said.
In March, a tanker truck spill already tested the contingency plan.
"The worst case scenario is somewhere on I-640, where we had a total closure, would be somewhere between Broadway and the I-40/I-640 interchange on the east end.," TDOT spokesman Travis Brickey said. "We don't have an obvious detour when the closure is going on."
Fast tow truck response will be a critical part of the plan, to get crashes cleaned up quickly and traffic flowing again.
How Will I Get There?
The big question on almost every driver's mind during the shutdown is how do I get to my destination?
TDOT has planned detours for drivers based on a few basic directions.
If you're traveling east or West on I-40 through Knoxville, you'll simply be detoured onto I-640. The entire stretch has been improved to three lanes of traffic in each direction. The ramps from I-40 will also be widened from two lanes to three.
If you're traveling north on I-75, TDOT suggests you stay on I-40 toward downtown Knoxville past I-640, then take I-275 northbound to I-75. I-275 has also been beefed up to three lanes in each direction, so drivers may find it prevents them from getting delayed on I-640.
If you're traveling south on I-75, you can either take I-640 or continue south on I-275 to westbound I-40, depending on where you need to go.
If this all still seems confusing, you can find updated maps at area welcome centers and rest areas. TDOT has partnered with Rand McNally to create new maps that reflect the detours and is also working with GPS companies to update their files. That should also carry forward into mapping sites like Google Maps and Mapquest.
I Need More Specific Directions!
Fear not--traffic tracker Ed Rupp has been on the road, planning routes for just about every contingency. We start on the north side.
Broadway to West Knoxville
"If you're coming down Broadway from Fountain City, southbound on Broadway, you're not going to be able to get west from Broadway any more," Ed said. "A good option to use: come down to the intersection where Fulton High School is, and make a right on Woodland. Woodland will take you past St. Mary's, and you can get on I-275 South from there. Once you're on 275, you will be able to access I-40 westbound from 275 and use the Henley Street tunnel."
North Knoxville to East or West Knoxville
"OK, folks coming down from Emory Road, Callahan Road, southbound on I-75--of course you'll still be able to get on 640 East or West. If you want to go to the zoo, take 640 East all the way around to Rutledge Pike, and use that. 640 West, you'll still be able to get on 40 on the west side of town. As a matter of fact, there will be three lanes of traffic on 640 West to make it easier for you to get on."
North Knoxville to Broadway
"OK, you've come down I-75 or Clinton Highway and got on I-640 eastbound. If you want to go to Broadway, this is the way you want to go, which is pretty much the same for you as going 40 East, because you won't be able to go through town any more. So plan on using this one--640 eastbound to get over to Broadway, or you can circle all the way around to come in past Rutledge Pike.
Alcoa Highway to downtown Knoxville
"Coming north on Alcoa Highway, what are you going to do? First of all, if you're going to take Alcoa Highway to 40 westbound, that's not going to change for you--not a problem. I-40 East is going to be very difficult for you, to come 40 eastbound from Alcoa Highway and go over 3 lanes of traffic to get there. You're much better off coming north on Alcoa Highway and choosing to get off either at Neyland Drive, Cumberland, or at 17th Street. Then get over to Hall of Fame Drive and come over to downtown that way. You'll be able to come downtown on I-40 East, but that will be really hard cutting across those 4 lanes of traffic to get over to 40 East. If you do that, the farthest down you can go is James White Parkway, but northbound Alcoa Highway, coming across Buck Karns Bridge, you can get off at Neyland, Cumberland, 17th Street, and if you have to go 40 westbound, you'll be just fine."
Alcoa Highway or downtown to West Knoxville
"Northbound motorists on Alcoa Highway and folks coming out of downtown on 40 westbound, in order to accommodate 3 lanes of 640 up here, we're going to lose a lane. Where we normally have 3 lanes up here, the little stretch out there underneath Liberty Street to where 640 comes on again, it's only going to be 2 lanes. It will be a little congested with traffic coming off I-275 and also traffic coming off Alcoa Highway. The main idea is to route most traffic around Knoxville, so it won't come through downtown at all. Coming down 640 from the east side, they'll take 640 all the way around. 640 has been expanded to 3 lanes everyhwere. They've got to try to get all that on I-40 over here on the west side, so keep that in mind."
West Knoxville heading East
"Those of you who come 40 eastbound from West Knoxville, for a lot of you, things really aren't going to change. I-40 eastbound traffic will have an extra lane to get off at 640, going 640 around town. A lot of traffic that wants to go 75 North, just stay on 40 eastbound, down to I-275, and take it north from there. Those of you who usually take 40 East to Alcoa Highway, that will still be available to you. You can also get off on 17th Street and Western Avenue, and of course get off on the James White Parkway. That will be where the interstate ends, though, at the JWP. James White Parkway ramps to 40 eastbound will remain open. For a lot of people, traveling eastbound from the west side of town really isn't going to change all that much."
West Knoxville heading north
"One other thing we want you to remember if taking 40 eastbound, they want you to go all the way downtown and take I-275 North, rather than coming here on 640 East and coming off I-40. Why? Because there's only a single file off-ramp to 75 northbound. That's going to get real congested with extra traffic, so if you come 40 eastbound past Papermill Road and want to get to 75 Northbound, go all the way to downtown to 275 North. Skip that little section of 640 East as it comes around past Western Avenue. You'll save yourself a lot of time.
East Knoxville to downtown Knoxville
"OK, 40 westbound motorists coming past Rutledge Pike, come down past Cherry Street, this is going to be last chance, actually where interstate is going to end. You're going to have to get off on Hall of Fame Drive. I-40 west will stop at Hall of Fame Drive. You may want to get off Rutledge Pike and come in on Magnolia. It just depends on where you need to go. Again, before May 1, start sitting down and thinking about where you need to be and how you may have to change your route to get there, so you'll be ready to go."
Downtown Knoxville to Asheville Highway
"Here's something important for you to remember, if you want to get on to Asheville Highway, 640 East is the way to go. You won't be able to use 40 East out of downtown and get off on Asheville Highway, because they're bringing 3 lanes of 640 eastbound down there, and you have to cross over all that traffic from 40 East, to 640 East. Yes--you can get off on Asheville Highway. 40 East--no. If you go past Rutledge Pike, you'll have to go all the way to Strawberry Plains Pike and turn around, so keep that in mind. The I-40 eastbound off-ramp to Asheville Highway will be closed during SmartFIX40 beginning May 1."
James White Parkway to I-40 East or West
"For those of you who use the James White Parkway, of course JWP to 40 East has been open for quite some time. They're going to build a temporary ramp to let you use 40 westbound. That will take around 10 to 12 days after the closure, but you will be able to go to 40 West off the JWP. I-40 eastbound, though around Rutledge Pike, will be down to one lane for part of the time, so it's going to be really congested there, between Rutledge Pike and Asheville Highway on that eastbound side."
Zoo Hopes Visitors Still Make the Drive
On a beautiful spring day, the animals at Knoxville Zoo soak up the sun and the attention. Zoo leaders hope the construction won't drive away visitors.
They project a loss of up to 100,000 visitors during the two zoo seasons of I-40 closure. That could mean a loss of $1.6 million for the zoo.
The zoo took a tongue-in-cheek approach to encouraging past visitors to remember them during the construction.
"You're probably talking about the 'dam construction' one, and well, we have our beavers in the background here, and they do a great job at dam construction," Executive Director Jim Vlna said. "We just felt that was a good thing to start talking about, and it also gave us an opportunity to talk about the detour that was necessary and the fact that there is some construction out there."
The most direct route to the zoo will be I-640 East to I-40 West to the Rutledge Pike exit.
Getting the Word Out
TDOT has also been busy getting the word out about SmartFIX40 and the shutdown. It may be the only road construction project, period, that has a piece of art.
At Eddie's Barber Shop on Western Avenue, owners Eddie and Lu Ann often give clips and hand out tips.
"We've been handing out the little post cards daily," Lu Ann Copeland said. "Everybody wants one."
The barber shop is one of many high-traffic areas turned traffic information centers. TDOT gave them special postcards to distribute that include details about the Smart FIX 40 and the traffic changes that come with it.
TDOT also gave them posters to put on display.
"We've had quite a few people get posters from us," Copeland said. "They want to frame them, put them up in their workshops and dens."
Joel Anderson is the person behind the poster.
"Most artists want their work to be seen by people and appreciated," Anderson said. "When it's sought after like that, it makes you feel good."
Anderson is owner and creative director of the Anderson Design Group in Nashville.
"We've done all kinds of projects. Everything from milk to toys to ice cream to potting soil," Anderson said. "I've never done anything to do with roads."
He spent some 4 months working out the details of the SmartFIX40 poster.
"There are 100 ways to say something, but if you can say it more creatively, it's more memorable and sticks with people on an emotional level."
Anderson went to the streets looking for inspiration. He took pictures of the Hall of Fame Bridge from every angle imaginable.
"If I was just going to make it art, I probably wouldn't have focused on the Interstate so much with all the vehicles, but it really has to tell a story," Anderson said. "I needed to get that message across, that this about the Interstate and the re-routing."
It took at least three different drafts before Anderson's piece of informative art got the green light from TDOT and went to press. McQuiddy's in Nashville printed thousands of copies.
"That was the hard part to illustrate all these things and make them look pretty," Anderson said. "I think we pulled that off."
More than 2,700 prints were passed out to area businesses.
"This is big time," Copeland said of the project. "It's a big thing. It is."
The poster is an artistic interpretation of what's down the road, and a lasting reminder of what drivers have passed along the way.
"We can put up with the closure. They've kept roads around here torn up forever," Copeland said. "We're used to it."
Anderson's trip to Knoxville for the SmartFIX40 poster actually inspired his latest print. It's of Aires Hall on UT's campus and should be available in May.
TDOT also enlisted the help of a vocal artist, East Tennessee's own Dolly Parton, to get the word out. It started airing April 15 across the state.
SmartFIX40 Gets Smart Innovation
TDOT geotechnical engineer Saieb Haddad used a special, space-saving form of retaining wall to keep the project within a neat space. Haddad first used the system in 2000 to build a retaining wall at West Towne Mall.
It saved two buildings from the wrecking ball by cutting down on the traditional footprint for a retaining wall.
"This wall saved the state from buying two properties, estimated cost close to $20 million," Haddad said.
The wall uses stretched steel to create tension and stability, cutting down on the overall space required.
