THP, Tennessee Highway PatrolTennessee Highway Patrol troopers will be out in force and posting safety messages over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as part of a safety mission called the "I-40 Challenge: the Drive Toward Zero Fatalities."
In the Chattanooga region, THP will step up patrols and take on the same mission on interstates 24 and 75, U.S. Highway 27 and Tennessee Highway 111, according to troopers at the Chattanooga District office in Tiftonia.
Nine portable signs and dozens of electronic overhead billboards will be employed to warn drivers to be safe and to notify motorists of increased trooper presence through the holiday weekend.
Troopers near Chattanooga will be posted every 20 miles through the holiday period starting Wednesday and ending at midnight Sunday. Signs and messages already are visible.
Troopers also will be posted at the rest areas to help with directions, answer questions and offer checks on child safety seat installation, officials said.
The "I-40 Challenge," issued to seven other state police or highway patrol agencies, consists of increased patrols along the I-40 corridor over the busiest two 12-hour travel periods, Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, officials said. Interstate 40 runs 455 miles through Tennessee and more than 2,550 miles across the U.S.
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.