TDOT begins construction at I-55/Crump Blvd. interchange

Project expected to cause congestion, delays as lane closers lead to slow-downs

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com

After more than seven years of opposition on both sides of the river, the Tennessee Department of Transportation has finally begun ground work on a massive project that promises to improve the flow of traffic between Arkansas and Tennessee — eventually, but not before several years of work that has already led to slowdowns, delays and disruption.

After years of state, regional and local officials raising multiple objections to the project at the Interstate 55 interchange at West E.H.

Crump Boulevard ( where drivers have to slow down and take an exit in order to stay on the highway) TDOT pushed ahead with the work a few weeks ago The project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, was always expected to impact local traffic, but accoring to the TDOT, work on the interchange will not close access to the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge as originally planned.

Thanks to opposition that came largely from the Arkansas side of the river, the original plan to completetl shut down the bridge was abandoned a few years ago. Commuters got a taste of what having one bridge shut down for any length of time would be like last year when the I-40 bridge was closed for four months for emergency repairs.

TDOT’s original proposal to close the bridge entirely for one year in order to accelerate the process was deemed unacceptable.

“We are working through several scenarios and, the short answer is yes, construction will cause some disruptions,” Nichole Lawrence, TDOT’s community relations officer for West Tennessee, wrote in an email. “We just haven’t ironed out what that will look like.”

Lawrence did not offer a price tag for the project but estimates put the projected cost at close to $50 million based on figures from the original plan submitted in 2012 and adjusted for current inflation/cost of materials.

TDOT justified the lengthy disruption citing data that shows driving is dangerous at the interchange, and accidents are common as cars swerve and merge across. The roundabout is aimes at reducing crashes.

TDOT says the target completion date is Oct. 2026.

Photos courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation