CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Three separate but related APD-40 highway plans in southern Bradley County now are on the table in anticipation of growth coming from the Volkswagen auto plant under construction just eight miles away in Hamilton County.
Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said Tuesday the projects often can be hard to keep separated.
On Monday local officials received a transportation department letter that the state funding portion has been approved for a connector road between Interstate 75’s exit 20 and a future interchange on APD-40.
The Local Interchange Connector project, as it is called, is a Cleveland project, Flynn said.
“The only involvement TDOT has with this project is helping with funding,” she said.
“This is important news because it links to an area the city recently annexed where future growth is expected to come,” Mayor Tom Rowland said Tuesday.
Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis said Monday that both local governments have committed to a portion of the cost for the connector.
While the connector route is a local project, TDOT is involved with two interchange projects, Flynn said. One is modification to the existing exit 20 interchange. The other is construction of the APD-40 interchange.
The earliest the exit 20 modification project might be put out to bid is the fourth quarter of 2012, contingent on funding, Flynn said.
“The project is not funded for right-of-way acquisition or construction, and to keep the 2012 schedule the project must receive funding in the next legislative session,” she said.
The APD-40 interchange construction, however, is fully funded, she said. The earliest that bids might be opened for that project is the first quarter of 2013.
“This is because there is a more detailed environmental document required for this project by the Federal Highway Administration and there are more right-of-way tracts to acquire,” Flynn said.