- Nashville Lawmaker Calls For Investigation Of Choice Lanes Contract
- Tennessee DOT Begins Eminent Domain Outreach For I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes
- I-77 Express North Of Charlotte Informs Consideration Of I-77 South
- Colorado’s EV Fast-Charging Network Nears Completion
- Sudanese Migrant Dies Trying To Leap From Toll Booth To The Roof Of A Moving Bus
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Nashville Lawmaker Calls For Investigation Of Choice Lanes Contract
Tennessee State Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) is calling on Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to investigate the P3 contract awarded for the I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes project, WKRN reports. The winning bid came from DriveTN, a consortium composed of Ferrovial subsidiary Cintra, the Transurban Group, and other, mostly offshore-controlled companies.
As previously reported, DriveTN will invest $9.2 billion to build two new toll lanes in each direction along 26 miles of the existing I-24 corridor connecting Nashville and Murfreesboro. The 50-year contract includes $24.8 billion in concession fees to the state, $1.5 billion of which will be paid up-front. The project is slated to break ground in 2027.
Clemmons suspects DriveTN was awarded the contract to favor companies with ties to Governor Bill Lee’s (R) administration. He challenges that no data supports toll lanes as a solution to the region’s persistent congestion, and called TDOT’s public meetings “‘some dog and pony show.’”
The article does not include a response from the Lee administration about the call for an investigation. TDOT officials reportedly emphasized that revenue from the concession will be invested in other transportation projects throughout Tennessee.
Tennessee DOT Begins Eminent Domain Outreach For I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes
Although property impacts for the I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes outside Nashville won’t be finalized until all regulatory reviews are complete, Tennessee DOT began issuing letters in July to property owners who may be affected by the project, The Tennessean reports. And according to Nashville Metro Council member Ginny Welsch, the letter indicates these properties will be in the path of the toll lanes, no matter its ultimate design.
Welsch was shown the letter by a constituent, because TDOT denied her request to view it. The agency also is not identifying the affected properties publicly, to respect the owners’ privacy. Nor is it disclosing the number of letters that have been mailed.
However, TDOT continues to emphasize that one reason DriveTN was selected for the $9.2 billion undertaking is that its preliminary design minimized property impacts.
The procurement is still being finalized, with negotiations expected to conclude in early- to mid-2027. At that time, an estimated eight-year construction period will commence immediately.
Welsch stressed the cost to community that’s incurred when people are forced out of their homes and businesses. She also suspects induced demand from added highway capacity will end up exacerbating congestion, rather than solving it.
I-77 Express North Of Charlotte Informs Consideration Of I-77 South
The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) is scheduled to vote on whether to reinstate support for the controversial I-77 South Express Lanes project on September 23. As the debate continues to roil, The Charlotte Observer considers the differences and similarities between North Carolina’s first P3, Cintra’s I-77 Express Lanes north of Charlotte, and its potential bookend south of the city a decade later.
“A controversial toll lane project. A regional transportation board in the crosshairs. Closed community meetings to garner support. One would not be able to tell the difference on the surface. But beneath the surface there are differences.”
According to Kurt Naas of Cornelius, who led opposition to the toll lanes extending 26 miles north of Charlotte to Lake Norman, “‘The difference is that Charlotte was fine with private toll lanes going through Lake Norman, but they’re not fine with toll lanes going through Charlotte.’” And as CRTPO’s municipal member with the highest-weighted vote, Charlotte’s position matters a lot.
The fact that the northern project was the state’s first P3 also distinguishes it from today’s debate about I-77 South. Bill Thunberg, executive director of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission and former mayor of Mooresville, said this gives communities the opportunity to benefit from hard-learned lessons.
For example, with only one bidder, negotiations surrounding the first I-77 express lanes were hardly competitive. And ultimately, according to Charlotte City Council member Ed Driggs, the pricing formula’s high rates limited use so much that the facility failed to relieve congestion in the general purpose lanes. Today, if the express lanes are built south of Charlotte, the pricing scheme would include a low-income discount and exemption, as well as a pricing cap, which may help improve uptake.
Social justice also was not on the table a decade ago, but concern about the impact of the new facility’s design is driving much of the opposition, as it threatens 29 homes in a historically Black neighborhood.
And municipal leaders then did not face a $60 million penalty (in addition to a significant loss of state funding) for their opposition, as CRPTO members do today.
Despite all those differences, Naas said, one feeling is starting to feel familiar: defeat.
“‘The fact that the state’s already spent millions doing design work and wants to come after the towns if they don’t do this, indicates to me that this train has left the station,’” he said.
Colorado’s EV Fast-Charging Network Nears Completion
“Colorado has reached the point where we are no longer simply building the foundation of an EV fast-charging network — we are filling in the remaining gaps and making that network increasingly useful for travel throughout the state,” CDOT executive director Shoshana Lew said in a news release.
The progress is especially notable in the mountainous state where difficult terrain exacerbates the challenges of serving rural areas with low traffic volumes.
“Today, 83% of Colorado’s state highway network is within 30 miles of a DC fast-charging station, more than double the 40% coverage recorded in August 2020.” That includes about 486 public sites across the state. Thirty-three more locations are under development, and a new round of applications for DC Fast-Charging Plaza Grants is being evaluated.
Colorado’s funding for the initiative has flowed from the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI), the State of Colorado’s Community Access Enterprise (CAE), the State EV Fund and private sector investment.
Sudanese Migrant Dies Trying To Leap From Toll Booth To The Roof Of A Moving Bus
“A Sudanese migrant has died after trying to jump onto the roof of a moving Britain-bound lorry from the top of a Calais road toll booth,” Daily Mail reports.
“The 22-year-old was on top of the structure at the Setques toll plaza in Pas-de-Calais when he attempted to leap onto the vehicle at around 2.40am on Sunday.” The man was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries later in the day.
Another man reportedly had made the same leap successfully just moments earlier.
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