TDOT making changes to Choice Lanes proposal after community feedback

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation is making changes to its proposed Choice Lanes project along I-24 after hearing from South Nashville community members.

The road expansion project is using privately funded toll lanes to help reduce traffic. It will add two lanes in each direction for people who want to pay for guaranteed minimum speeds and faster arrival times.

The state is going to use eminent domain to get land in the right of way through parts of neighborhoods like Joplin Drive near East Thompson Lane’s intersection with the highway.

Dan Lyle’s family has lived along the dead-end street for more than 50 years. He said they’ve watched traffic on I-24 continue to get worse despite several widening projects.

While Lyle said something needs to be done, he doesn’t want it to disrupt his neighborhood and force people from their longtime homes.

“We can’t stop it,” Lyle said. “If we can just minimize the impact it has on us, that is the best thing.”

Lyle is also concerned about increased traffic noise and problems with construction impacting the area. He said blasting from the building of I-440 nearby caused foundation damage to many of his neighbors.

TDOT Choice Lanes spokesperson Rebekah Hammonds said project leaders have already made changes to the proposal near Joplin Drive after talking with community members.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: TDOT releases new I-24 choice lane plans ahead of public meetings

It’s one of many areas under review after a series of community meetings and ongoing environmental studies. Hammonds said it is too early to know exactly how many homes and businesses will be removed for the Choice Lanes project.

Hammonds said TDOT is working on revised design plans now that should be finished and ready for a series of new community meetings in early spring 2025.

Those plans will then be used to help find private companies that will build and operate the Choice Lanes, but Hammonds said changes will continue to be made for several years after that.

“There are going to be changes and additions to our design,” Hammonds said. “(We will work with the contractor) to say, ‘Well, we like this idea, but we can do this better.’ The private sector can bring a lot more innovation to the table than we can, so that is part of the benefits of doing this.”

Hammonds said it is very important for people to attend a community meeting or submit formal proposal feedback on the TDOT website. That will be reviewed by the project team and incorporated into the design, but people need to do it before things are finalized.

Kal Thomas moved to a new house down the street from Lyle on Joplin Drive over the summer but wasn’t expecting the traffic noise to be this loud. He said it keeps his family up at night, so he is excited this proposal would help reduce traffic and allow them to move.

“It’s better for the world, it’s better for the state,” Thomas said. “A couple hundred thousand dollars, you can buy another house somewhere and then we can build some more roads to increase the traffic.”

Thomas and other neighbors said they are going to be very involved in the public comment period going forward as the updated Choice Lanes proposals are released.