TN: SmartFix40

Interstate 40 through central Knoxville, Tennessee carried 103,000 vehicles per day and had not been improved since its original construction in the 1960s. TDOT embarked in 2005 on a $190 million “SmartFIX40” project — the largest single road project in Tennessee history — to replace 2.5 miles of freeway. 9.2 miles of ramps and city streets, 25 bridges, one tunnel, 31 retaining walls, 1.4 miles of noise barriers, and numerous pedestrian and bicycle enhancements. To accelerate construction completion by 23 months, project managers decided to close 1.4 miles of the interstate for 14 months. To prepare for the interstate shutdown, Contract #1 was awarded in 2005 for $85 million to build a new city boulevard, improve 18 city streets, and reconstruct James White Parkway to provide detour routes. The on-time completion of Contract #1 allowed for the second contract — the interstate reconstruction — to begin as scheduled in May 2008.