Tennessee’s Interstate 40 Named Best Road
Wednesday February 10, 2010
Overdrive’s annual survey of owner-operators’ opinions...
In Overdrive's annual survey of owner-operators' opinions on the best, worst and most improved U.S. interstate highways, I-40 in Tennessee was named Best Road for the fourth year in a row.
At about 455 miles, I-40's longest stretch within one state is in Tennessee, from the Mississippi River to the Appalachians.
I-40's popularity among truckers isn't an accident, says Paul Degges, chief engineer of Tennessee's Department of Transportation. "The number one thing people have told us is maintain our investment in infrastructure. We put a priority on maintaining our bridges and pavement structure, so we have a low overall maintenance cost on those facilities."
In 2009, the state completed a major reconstruction of two miles of I-40 in Knoxville that shut down the highway for 14 months and rerouted an estimated 120,000 drivers daily.
The Knoxville work was one of 11 projects that were completed on I-40 last year, according to Julie Oaks, Tennessee DOT's public information officer. Another 11 projects are scheduled for this year on the freeway.
One of 2010's biggest appropriations for I-40 will be in Nashville, reconstructing an interchange and creating an additional bypass route around the city, Degges says. "It will increase throughput of traffic in the Nashville area," he says.
Asphalt covers most of I-40 in the state and probably accounts for its high ranking among truckers. The state was one of the first to grind up the top one to three inches of concrete surface as a foundation and then repave with asphalt. That's contributed to the state receiving seven Perpetual Pavement awards from the Asphalt Pavement Alliance.
Source: Overdrive Magazine
