Panel prefers I-69 through downtown, with East bypass
By Tom Bailey Jr.
Interstate 69 - planned to run from Canada to Mexico - should go through the heart of Memphis, but only if there's an eastern bypass, I-269.
That's the recently announced conclusion of a technical advisory committee representing the Tennessee and Mississippi transportation departments, Federal Highway Administration and the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization.
"The preferred route will be right through downtown Memphis," Greg Duncan, director of the Tennessee transportation department's west region, said Monday.
The committee's decision appears to be a compromise in the tug-of-war between Memphis and DeSoto County over where to route the section of I-69 between Millington and Hernando.
I-69 will connect Port Huron in Michigan to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
DeSoto County has mounted an effort to have I-69 bypass Memphis, which would give DeSoto more of the road and any economic boost the freeway creates.
The committee studied three options:
Route I-69 straight through Memphis. New freeway would be built from Millington to just below Frayser, west of U.S. 51. Then, I-69 would use existing freeway, starting with the connector between U.S. 51 and the I-40/240 loop. I-69 would go south on I-40/240, then follow I-55 to just north of Hernando. From there, a different segment of I-69 will head southwest into the Mississippi Delta.
Turn I-69 east at Millington, using the existing Tennessee 385 loop that includes Paul Barret Parkway (Tenn. 385) and a new section of Tenn. 385 under construction between Arlington and Collierville. South of Collierville, new road would have to be built through the northwest corner of Marshall County and across northeast DeSoto. The new road would cross I-55 north of Hernando.
Use both routes, which the committee calls the "highway system approach."
"The facts have clearly shown that the only solution that will meet the overall purpose and need for the project is the highway system approach," the report states.
"I think it's a real big deal," said Dexter Muller, senior vice president of community development for the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Both Memphis and Shelby County mayors and the city council and chamber have long advocated building both routes," he said. "The recommendation . . . should allay fears some Mississippians had that Tennessee would get its section of I-69, but Mississippi would be left out."
The advisory committee cited no political factors in its conclusion, but did cite arguments for both routes.
In the federal law authorizing I-69, Memphis is named as one city the interstate must go through.
Going through Memphis is more direct than going around it and provides the best connections to the Mississippi River bridges, the Port of Memphis and Memphis International Airport. And studies have shown that a large part of I-69 commercial-traffic trips will start or end in Memphis.
However, the report also notes that the parts of I-40, I-240 and I-55 to be used by I-69 already experience traffic congestion at "certain periods of the day." During those times, through-traffic on I-69 would experience delays and a low "level of service," the report states.
"Through-traffic on I-69 and traffic destined for the major highways leaving Memphis to the east would not be adequately served without an eastern bypass," the report states.
The draft environmental impact statement is scheduled to be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration by late this year.
If the federal agency approves the document, copies will be made available at local libraries. Transportation officials anticipate a new round of public hearings early next year.
...sounds like a new path for the road warriors from the Great White North....
By Tom Bailey Jr.
Interstate 69 - planned to run from Canada to Mexico - should go through the heart of Memphis, but only if there's an eastern bypass, I-269.
That's the recently announced conclusion of a technical advisory committee representing the Tennessee and Mississippi transportation departments, Federal Highway Administration and the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization.
"The preferred route will be right through downtown Memphis," Greg Duncan, director of the Tennessee transportation department's west region, said Monday.
The committee's decision appears to be a compromise in the tug-of-war between Memphis and DeSoto County over where to route the section of I-69 between Millington and Hernando.
I-69 will connect Port Huron in Michigan to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
DeSoto County has mounted an effort to have I-69 bypass Memphis, which would give DeSoto more of the road and any economic boost the freeway creates.
The committee studied three options:
Route I-69 straight through Memphis. New freeway would be built from Millington to just below Frayser, west of U.S. 51. Then, I-69 would use existing freeway, starting with the connector between U.S. 51 and the I-40/240 loop. I-69 would go south on I-40/240, then follow I-55 to just north of Hernando. From there, a different segment of I-69 will head southwest into the Mississippi Delta.
Turn I-69 east at Millington, using the existing Tennessee 385 loop that includes Paul Barret Parkway (Tenn. 385) and a new section of Tenn. 385 under construction between Arlington and Collierville. South of Collierville, new road would have to be built through the northwest corner of Marshall County and across northeast DeSoto. The new road would cross I-55 north of Hernando.
Use both routes, which the committee calls the "highway system approach."
"The facts have clearly shown that the only solution that will meet the overall purpose and need for the project is the highway system approach," the report states.
"I think it's a real big deal," said Dexter Muller, senior vice president of community development for the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.
"Both Memphis and Shelby County mayors and the city council and chamber have long advocated building both routes," he said. "The recommendation . . . should allay fears some Mississippians had that Tennessee would get its section of I-69, but Mississippi would be left out."
The advisory committee cited no political factors in its conclusion, but did cite arguments for both routes.
In the federal law authorizing I-69, Memphis is named as one city the interstate must go through.
Going through Memphis is more direct than going around it and provides the best connections to the Mississippi River bridges, the Port of Memphis and Memphis International Airport. And studies have shown that a large part of I-69 commercial-traffic trips will start or end in Memphis.
However, the report also notes that the parts of I-40, I-240 and I-55 to be used by I-69 already experience traffic congestion at "certain periods of the day." During those times, through-traffic on I-69 would experience delays and a low "level of service," the report states.
"Through-traffic on I-69 and traffic destined for the major highways leaving Memphis to the east would not be adequately served without an eastern bypass," the report states.
The draft environmental impact statement is scheduled to be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration by late this year.
If the federal agency approves the document, copies will be made available at local libraries. Transportation officials anticipate a new round of public hearings early next year.
...sounds like a new path for the road warriors from the Great White North....
