Interstate 440 (Tennessee)

Interstate 440 (I-440) is a 7.64-mile-long (12.30 km) auxiliary loop interstate highway in Davidson County, Tennessee which serves as a southern bypass for downtown Nashville. Interstate 440 is also known locally as the Four-Forty Parkway. I-440 connects to I-40, I-65, and I-24, as well as multiple U.S. and state routes.

Interstate 440
Four-Forty Parkway
I-440 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-40
Maintained by TDOT
Length7.64 mi[1] (12.30 km)
Existed1985–present
Major junctions
West end I-40 in Nashville
  I-65 in Nashville
East end I-24 / I-40 in Nashville
Location
CountiesDavidson
Highway system
← SR 438US 441 →

Route description
I-440 near the US-431 interchange prior to reconstruction

The majority of I-440 is located below the level of adjoining streets and roads, in an artificially-cut gulch.[2] It contains three through lanes in each direction for its entire length.[3]

West of downtown Nashville, I-440 heads south from I-40 and goes on to meet U.S. Route 70S (US 70S, West End Avenue) about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) later before turning due east. I-440 then has an interchange with US 431 (21st Avenue, South Hillsboro Pike) about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) later. Then, it has an interchange with I-65 south of downtown Nashville in a symmetrical four-level "Spaghetti Junction" stack interchange, which includes four flyover ramps. It also crosses US 31 (Franklin Pike) at this location, but this route is not accessible. I-440 then turns northeast and meets US 31A/US 41A (Nolensville Pike) about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) later. About 1.4 miles (2.3 km) later, I-440 reaches its eastern terminus at I-24, west of the Nashville International Airport. I-440 westbound is also directly accessible at this interchange from I-40 westbound.[4][5]

History

Planning
1955 highway plan for Nashville.

The route that is now Interstate 440 had its origins in 1955, when the interstate highway system was being planned, and was initially known as State Route 516 (SR 516).[2] After the Interstate Highway Act was passed, a public meeting was held on May 15, 1957 that identified proposed interstate highways and bypass routes around the city, including I-440.[6]

The project experienced many setbacks and was subject to much controversy.[7] TDOT was first authorized to begin studies related to right-of-way acquisition on July 12, 1961 by the Federal Highway Administration.[6] TDOT was authorized to make right-of-way acquisitions for the section located between I-65 and I-24 on December 4, 1968, and the section between I-40 and I-65 on August 17, 1970.[6] Around that time a lawsuit was filed against the department, alleging that they had purchased right-of-way for an unplanned interchange. TDOT won the lawsuit after they showed that the project was in the public interest.[8] After the National Environmental Policy Act became law in 1970, the FHWA determined that the I-440 project did not require an environmental impact statement.[6] A lawsuit was filed by the National Wildlife Federation in 1973, which resulted in the requirement of an environmental impact study for I-440.[2] Preliminary approval of the final environmental impact statement occurred on September 19, 1980, and on February 20, 1981, TDOT was approved to begin advertising bids for construction of I-440.[6]

The construction of I-440 required the demolition of many homes, and many Nashville residents opposed the project. Throughout the 1970s many groups campaigned to stop the construction of the highway. But traffic studies determined that the highway was necessary to relieve congestion on I-40.[2] On December 9, 1980 a group of community activists known as the "Nashvillians Against I-440" filed Nashvillians Against I-440 v. Lewis in a U.S. District Court hoping to stop construction of the interstate. The lawsuit was dismissed on September 23, 1981 when a judge ruled that the project would not adversely affect the natural environment and that TDOT had followed all necessary procedures.[6]

Construction and early history
Opening ceremony in 1987.

Construction began in early 1982. The project required the removal of hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of dirt and rock.[7] Initially, I-440 was going to be at-grade, but TDOT engineers chose to build it below the surface of the ground to reduce noise and vehicle emissions pollution after citizens in large cities living near interstates had complained of disturbances caused by highway traffic.[8] The state also agreed to take measures to reduce the impact of the interstate as a further compromise to opposition by such means as designing the route as a parkway. This included separating the lanes by a narrow grassy median, which unintentionally made the route susceptible to crossover crashes, and curbed inner edges.[8] Engineers chose to construct the highway with concrete rather than asphalt so it would last longer.[2] Most of I-440 contained three lanes in each direction, except through the interchanges with Murphy Road, US 70S, US 431, and I-65, where it contained two lanes in each direction, with the third lanes functioning as auxiliary lanes in most places.[3]

The section between I-24 and I-65 was completed on December 12, 1985,[9] and the section between I-65 and I-40 was completed and dedicated on April 3, 1987.[10] It was the most expensive road, per mile, built in Tennessee at the time, with a total cost of $163 million.[2] In the first year the interstate was open, traffic on I-40 decreased by about 16 percent.[2] The speed limit was initially 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). This was later increased to 65 mph (105 km/h), but reduced back to 55 mph after complaints from motorists.[7] Trucks were initially prohibited from using I-440, but this ban was blocked by a federal court in 1988 after being challenged by multiple trucking organizations.[11]

Between May 1997 and December 1998 the ramp carrying traffic from I-440 eastbound to I-24 westbound was widened from one to two lanes, including the flyover bridge over I-24.[12]

Recent history and reconstruction

I-440 was built with a design capacity of 64,000 vehicles a day. By 1999, the average annual daily traffic (AADT) had surpassed 100,000 vehicles in some locations.[13] The interstate experiences back-ups every day during rush hour.[2] By the 2000s, I-440 had begun to develop cracks and potholes, and in 2009 TDOT spent $8 million to rehabilitate the roadway. This included cutting grooves parallel to traffic flow in the lanes to improve traction after the overuse of the roadway had worn away the surface, causing a susceptibility of vehicles to hydroplane. Between June and November 2013, TDOT spent $9.7 million to repair the concrete on I-440 eastbound between I-65 and I-24, which also included adding an additional lane through the interchange with US 31A/US 41A.[14] Despite these improvements, I-440 continued to develop potholes afterwards, which prompted TDOT to prepare for reconstruction of the entire route.[8]

After the Tennessee General Assembly passed the IMPROVE Act in 2017, which increased the state's fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees with the intent of funding a backlog of 962 needed transportation projects, TDOT announced that an upgrade of I-440 was a top priority.[15] In November 2017 plans were announced for reconstruction of the route, which included replacing the concrete with asphalt, widening the entire route to a minimum of six lanes, replacing the grass median with a jersey barrier, and improving entrance and exit ramps.[16] The contract for reconstruction was awarded on August 1, 2018 at a cost of $152.9 million, the most expensive contract in state history.[17] Preliminary work began in late November 2018,[18] and the reconstruction project began on March 1, 2019.[19] The project was completed on July 2, 2020, almost one month ahead of schedule.[20]

Exit list

The entire route is in Davidson County.

LocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Nashville0.000.00— I-40 – Memphis, NashvilleWestern terminus; I-40 exit 206
1.472.371Murphy RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.472.371A US 70S (West End Avenue)Signed as exit 1 westbound
2.824.543 US 431 (21st Avenue South, Hillsboro Pike)
Nashville–Berry Hill line4.827.765 I-65 – Nashville, HuntsvilleOne of two four-level stack interchanges in Tennessee; I-65 exit 80
Nashville6.2910.126 US 31A / US 41A (Nolensville Pike)
7.6412.30— I-24 / I-40 – Nashville, Knoxville, ChattanoogaEastern terminus; connection to Nashville International Airport; I-24 exit 53; I-40 exit 213A
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

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References

KML is from Wikidata
  1. "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 2". FHWA. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  2. Greenberg, Pierce (April 18, 2013). "Interstate 440: The road Nashville loves to hate". Nashville City Paper. Nashville, Tennessee. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  3. "I-440 Overview". tn.gov. Tennessee Department of Transportation. 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  4. Google (September 16, 2011). "Overview map of I-440 in Tennessee" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  5. Tennessee Department of Transportation Long Range Planning Division Office of Data Visualization (2018). Davidson County (PDF) (Map). Tennessee Department of Transportation.
  6. Nashvillians Against I-440, et. al. v. Andrew J. Lewis, Jr., et. al., 80-3722 (United States District Court, M. D. Tennessee, Nashville Division September 23, 1981).
  7. Williams, William (August 7, 2011). "Interstate 440 turns 25 with a history of successes and setbacks". Nashville City Paper. Nashville, Tennessee. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  8. Deese, Holly (April 8, 2016). "I-440: An $8 million 'cheap fix' gone bad". The Nashville Ledger. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  9. "Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, Previous Facts of the Day". fhea.dot.gov. 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  10. Elder, Renee (April 4, 1987). "I-440 finally more than a dream". The Tennessean. p. 1, 2. Retrieved July 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Abruzzese, Leo (June 2, 1988). "TENN. TRUCK BAN BLOCKED". Journal of Commerce. New York City. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  12. "I-440 Bridge Over I-24 to Be Closed Temporarily" (Press release). Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Transportation. May 6, 1998. Archived from the original on August 24, 2000. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  13. Tennessee Department of Transportation. "Traffic History". ArcGIS. Esri. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. "Tennessee Department of Transportation announces Section of I-440 to Close for 10 Weekends for Concrete Repairs". Clarksville Online. June 21, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. Garrison, Joey (May 9, 2017). "Long-awaited repairs on Nashville's I-440 slated for coming year after gas tax hike". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  16. Koehn, Alexandra (November 15, 2017). "Changes Coming To I-440 In Nashville". WTVF. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  17. "TDOT awards $153M contract for 440 work". The Nashville Post. Nashville, Tennessee. August 1, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  18. Ong, Linda (November 27, 2018). "Work begins on I-440 reconstruction project". WKRN-TV. Nashville, Tennessee. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  19. "I-440 reconstruction project begins". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. March 4, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  20. "Governor and TDOT Commissioner Celebrate Early Completion of I-440 Reconstruction" (Press release). Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Transportation. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
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