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Author	Topic: Tennessee's 'Smart Fix 40': the standard for urban roadway projects	Post a Reply Back to Topics

PD Moderator	Message Posted: Jun 18, 2012 3:05:28 PM Ignore PD Report Abuse It's always easy to complain about major highway projects that take too long, cost too much and are never completed on time. After all, we know there are plenty to choose from. New York's FDR Drive (still under uninterrupted construction since the Nixon Administration) comes to mind. But there are significant success stories too and often they don't get nearly the same amount of attention. Let's step back a few years to a project that was expedited in Knoxville, TN when the DOT completely closed 1 mile of I-40... because many state DOTs are now reviewing and asking about it today. Tennessee was able to rebuild a section of the I-40 freeway and interchanges with an accelerated planning and construction approach. It... Visit GasBuddy Blog for full article

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Message Posted: Jun 18, 2012 3:05:28 PM

Ignore PD Report Abuse

It's always easy to complain about major highway projects that take too long, cost too much and are never completed on time. After all, we know there are plenty to choose from. New York's FDR Drive (still under uninterrupted construction since the Nixon Administration) comes to mind.

But there are significant success stories too and often they don't get nearly the same amount of attention. Let's step back a few years to a project that was expedited in Knoxville, TN when the DOT completely closed 1 mile of I-40... because many state DOTs are now reviewing and asking about it today.

Tennessee was able to rebuild a section of the I-40 freeway and interchanges with an accelerated planning and construction approach. It...

Visit GasBuddy Blog for full article

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gasokie Champion Author Oklahoma Posts:3,442 Points:1,323,805 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Jul 15, 2012 2:40:48 PM Ignore gasokie Report Abuse Seems to me they (the highway builders) are real good at getting a project started and when it reaches it maximum destruction level, poof...they disappear.
albert2008 Champion Author Winnipeg Posts:7,347 Points:1,480,035 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: Jul 14, 2012 8:46:26 PM Ignore albert2008 Report Abuse sounds good
jlf599 Veteran Author Kentucky Posts:339 Points:126,925 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Jul 14, 2012 12:26:46 AM Ignore jlf599 Report Abuse Be curious to see more cities and states try this and see how successful it is. In Indianapolis it seems like there are sections that have been under repair for a decade.
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,609 Points:1,608,545 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jun 22, 2012 5:54:42 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse hope this can be an example of how to do it better.
lbrinkmn Champion Author Minnesota Posts:2,729 Points:1,835,765 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 3:49:29 PM Ignore lbrinkmn Report Abuse ok
Cheepo Champion Author Tampa Posts:9,889 Points:3,128,005 Joined:Apr 2003	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 3:35:54 PM Ignore Cheepo Report Abuse About time they use gas taxes for highway construction!!!
AcuraTSX Champion Author Ohio Posts:5,489 Points:2,181,155 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 3:26:03 PM Ignore AcuraTSX Report Abuse OK
Dennisjk Champion Author Detroit Posts:6,481 Points:1,924,475 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:44:39 PM Ignore Dennisjk Report Abuse If they would fix the roads right, they wouldn't have to do it so often but then they could get rid of some of those workers and the unions don't want that.
GrumpyCat Champion Author Alabama Posts:2,603 Points:788,325 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:32:26 PM Ignore GrumpyCat Report Abuse On January 25, 2002 I was on I-72 southbound south of Knoxville when at 3:30 that afternoon traffic came to a standstill. Idiot construction crew decided to block both lanes so they could work on the junction between a bridge and the roadbed. They already had one lane of the bridge permanently blocked. State Trooper who flew by was none too happy. Later learned I was still 9 miles from the bridge. Of course the construction crew was "finished" by 5:00 PM as thats when they go home for the day. It was only a 2 hour delay. Wish I had spray paint that day to paint "dead body crime scenes" in the middle of the interstate.
DeeLA Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:4,807 Points:1,363,380 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:28:36 PM Ignore DeeLA Report Abuse Old News.
boldrph Champion Author Topeka Posts:18,371 Points:3,449,915 Joined:Oct 2002	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:27:09 PM Ignore boldrph Report Abuse how many days has this been up?
dollarwatcher Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:7,935 Points:1,534,020 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:21:44 PM Ignore dollarwatcher Report Abuse Once the detour is down people will soon forget the inconvience.
RoadKing95 Champion Author San Jose Posts:20,548 Points:3,602,265 Joined:May 2003	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:21:41 PM Ignore RoadKing95 Report Abuse bbthegun wrote; >>That is smart. Wouldn't see that approach in 'stuck on stupid' California. << WRONG! I don't know about So.Cal., but up here we have had some very successful projects coming in under budget and earlier than estimated by giving bonuses for early completion and penalties for being late. bb if you hate California so much perhaps its time to think about going to Tx or Az. Their politics seem to be more aligned with your point of view. [Edited by: RoadKing95 at 6/19/2012 2:23:41 PM EST]
bojiway1 Champion Author Minnesota Posts:2,039 Points:477,085 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:21:14 PM Ignore bojiway1 Report Abuse need more details
NemoIL Champion Author Illinois Posts:3,020 Points:1,312,245 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:19:45 PM Ignore NemoIL Report Abuse What does this have to do with gas prices?
ljmh Champion Author Akron Posts:3,047 Points:551,060 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:19:20 PM Ignore ljmh Report Abuse Sounds ok
ItisAJeepThing Champion Author Tucson Posts:19,745 Points:2,150,565 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:16:45 PM Ignore ItisAJeepThing Report Abuse We couldn't divert all traffic off the Interstate Highway (I-10) onto surface streets, so it wouldn't work here in Tucson, AZ.
GatorGuy Champion Author Columbia Posts:2,225 Points:1,206,310 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:16:44 PM Ignore GatorGuy Report Abuse Ah yes, I remember that a few years ago....
MustangRacing Champion Author Virginia Posts:1,838 Points:648,485 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:15:35 PM Ignore MustangRacing Report Abuse good idea, old news.
Stevedog Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,848 Points:1,944,920 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:15:06 PM Ignore Stevedog Report Abuse smart fix 40 sounds like a birthday treat
firechief Champion Author New York Posts:3,436 Points:2,064,425 Joined:Mar 2004	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:12:39 PM Ignore firechief Report Abuse Not every place can handle the amount of traffic that would be diverted
mreiff Champion Author Louisville Posts:5,345 Points:1,302,715 Joined:May 2009	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:09:43 PM Ignore mreiff Report Abuse Am interesting approach but boy I would hate to have to deal with that if I lived there.
DutchTreatMI Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:3,305 Points:750,715 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:08:18 PM Ignore DutchTreatMI Report Abuse The M6 Addition in the West Michigan that goes around the south side of Wyoming and Grand Rapids has been fantastic.
yvonneIL Champion Author Chicago Posts:3,714 Points:737,150 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:07:23 PM Ignore yvonneIL Report Abuse ok
lucky69 Champion Author Austin Posts:2,761 Points:1,467,590 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:05:34 PM Ignore lucky69 Report Abuse Construction is taking too long on everything.
hmiwb Veteran Author Wichita Posts:304 Points:50,695 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:01:42 PM Ignore hmiwb Report Abuse Whatever works in a given situation.
Taurus1 Champion Author Ohio Posts:3,125 Points:1,673,500 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:01:37 PM Ignore Taurus1 Report Abuse Sounds smart.
dsaine Champion Author North Carolina Posts:2,992 Points:631,520 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:56:24 PM Ignore dsaine Report Abuse Ok.
dad2two Champion Author Dallas Posts:3,538 Points:749,420 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:52:06 PM Ignore dad2two Report Abuse In Texas, they pay for performance, charge companies for lane closures depending on the time of day, and have completion milestones. Most of the lane closures occur at night, but a lot of the other construction can occur during the day. It works pretty well for large projects like I-635 in Dallas.
SpankyMI Champion Author Kalamazoo Posts:2,703 Points:758,305 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:49:58 PM Ignore SpankyMI Report Abuse There are still to many poorly designed roads in this country, what are the engineers thing when it come to traffic flow?
nehemiah Champion Author Portland Posts:4,751 Points:929,415 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:49:55 PM Ignore nehemiah Report Abuse so let's replicate it
grammamNV Champion Author Nevada Posts:2,335 Points:372,425 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:49:16 PM Ignore grammamNV Report Abuse 14 months of inconvenience vs 2-3 years - OK
12mpgnavigator Champion Author Seattle Posts:2,774 Points:650,935 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:48:41 PM Ignore 12mpgnavigator Report Abuse ok
hauler43 Champion Author Oakland Posts:8,158 Points:2,597,750 Joined:Sep 2003	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:40:31 PM Ignore hauler43 Report Abuse Great, but may work there may not in other cities
rxman1 Champion Author Toledo Posts:9,540 Points:1,860,920 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:39:32 PM Ignore rxman1 Report Abuse Good non traditional thinking
mnorthwood13 Champion Author Michigan Posts:1,385 Points:762,435 Joined:Apr 2010	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:39:15 PM Ignore mnorthwood13 Report Abuse Didn't LA do this last year for a weekend?
camaro_man Champion Author Kitchener-Waterloo Posts:2,224 Points:609,685 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:36:36 PM Ignore camaro_man Report Abuse wow
Jeepergeo Champion Author San Bernardino Posts:1,380 Points:586,180 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:33:37 PM Ignore Jeepergeo Report Abuse Too many politics involved in public works projects today.
waynemustang Champion Author Indiana Posts:6,372 Points:1,664,810 Joined:Nov 2006	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:30:13 PM Ignore waynemustang Report Abuse Just do it.
s6sputnik Champion Author Austin Posts:6,219 Points:1,307,195 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:29:31 PM Ignore s6sputnik Report Abuse Ok!
tc316 Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:10,781 Points:1,726,655 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:28:44 PM Ignore tc316 Report Abuse Old news
Bud122CA Champion Author California Posts:7,466 Points:1,605,100 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:27:37 PM Ignore Bud122CA Report Abuse Many roads need to be looked at.
Double_Golden Champion Author San Francisco Posts:2,558 Points:604,595 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:24:25 PM Ignore Double_Golden Report Abuse ok
MOREDLEG Champion Author Missouri Posts:2,645 Points:610,010 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:23:41 PM Ignore MOREDLEG Report Abuse alright
dchiou Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,816 Points:792,015 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:20:48 PM Ignore dchiou Report Abuse ok
metrojeep Champion Author Fort Worth Posts:2,248 Points:433,895 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:19:10 PM Ignore metrojeep Report Abuse Repeat
ace12012 Champion Author Phoenix Posts:1,665 Points:324,385 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:18:20 PM Ignore ace12012 Report Abuse read it before.
byoftDad Champion Author Columbus Posts:4,452 Points:1,233,375 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:15:39 PM Ignore byoftDad Report Abuse Now we have really degrading this GASOLINE website and we are going to start to allow roadway projects be posted.
jacob5066 Champion Author College Station Posts:1,838 Points:429,465 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:13:56 PM Ignore jacob5066 Report Abuse Repeat
isis1812 Veteran Author West Virginia Posts:367 Points:191,715 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jun 19, 2012 1:11:42 PM Ignore isis1812 Report Abuse Ok