Interstate 440, a road known to cause problems for drivers, is expected to receive a major makeover in 2018.
The grassy median will be taken out and a concrete barrier wall installed. The interstate will also be widened to six lanes with drainage issues to also be addressed.
It's pavement, which is concrete, will be ripped up and replaced with asphalt. Design and build contractors are expected to submit proposals for the project through December. A contractor will be chosen in May of 2018 in hopes construction can begin in the Summer.
Most drivers have strong opinions about I-440 as it is.
Harold Pruitt said, "It sucks!"
Pruitt said he takes it only when he has to.
Pruitt said, "When I get on it, I pray that I make it where I'm going. When I get off I pray harder. God I made it through alive!"
He used to drive for a living.
Pruitt said, "I drove concrete in Atlanta, I moved from Atlanta because of accidents! And hell I came up here, I should of {SIC} stayed in Georgia!"
He said the deteriorating concrete on I-440 makes for dangerous conditions.
"Hey! I hate to be going down there, and somebody coming from Anchorage I mean Arkansas, an 18 wheeler 260,000 pounds on his butt and he fall asleep, hey! The only thing he gonna do is bump, and I can't outrun a big rig!"
He was happy to hear that the Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to rip it up and put in a concrete middle barrier.
Pruitt said, "But this wall right here? You ain't got no barrier wall. So hey you head on with somebody and got kids in the car and some fool come across there, the only thing you can do… is duck and cover!"
TDOT has admitted that I-440 is "sub-standard" at the moment. In Summer of 2018, there will be weekend closures and lane closures as they re-do the corridor.
On Tuesday, nine vehicles were involved in a crash that shut down the interstate both ways.
According to police a tractor trailer crashed into 8 other vehicles and went over the median onto the other side of the interstate.
Four people were transported to the hospital and are expected to be okay.
To learn more about the project that is aimed at making I-440 safer, you can visit theTDOT website.
