NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The word “traffic” can raise my blood pressure. If only I could count on how long it will take me to get to work each day. Are you with me?
As middle Tennessee continues to see record growth, travel times have changed dramatically. Interstate 24 between Nashville and Rutherford County is routinely the most congested and has been deemed a “Smart Corridor” by The Tennessee Department of Transportation. That means it’s getting a lot of attention and investment to help the flow of traffic.
Last June, the newly installed gantries went live. Gantries are the electronic signs that show the variable speed limit -- which is the safe speed drivers should be traveling for current conditions.
The signs also show whether a lane is open or closed due to a crash or other obstruction. The goal is to give drivers a two-mile "heads up."
“The purpose of the gantries is safety and reliability that’s the goal of the Smart Corridor project,” Lee Smith told me. He’s TDOT’s Smart Corridor Project manager.
The gantries are spaced every half mile for 15 miles, starting at I-440. Their installation is part of TDOT’s Phase 2 of the Smart Corridor project costing $60 million.
When it comes to safety, data from the first seven months of use speaks for itself.
“Comparing it year over year, 2022 to 2023, we are seeing anywhere from 5 – 10% reduction in crashes and an almost up to 20% reduction in fatal and injury crashes,” Smith said.
Smith told me the gantries are really helping to prevent secondary crashes - when people end up slamming on their brakes because of unexpected congestion.
“I think it’s providing motorists with a large amount of advance notice and telling them not only that it’s happening, but what to do about it.”
Now let's talk travel time -- that is unchanged since last June between Murfreesboro and Nashville. However, traffic volume has increased by 6% in the same period.
