The interchange on Interstate 75 at Hamilton Place mall is in the crosshairs of the Tennessee Department of Transportation's $3.6 billion three-year plan for 2022-25, with construction on new ramps expected to begin in 2023, according to a news release issued Thursday by Gov Bill Lee's office.
Lee said the investment is important to driving economic opportunity in the state.
"In addition to core transportation program funding, we've added $519 million in general fund dollars for new transportation investments supporting job creation in Tennessee," he said in the release.
The Hamilton County project, modification of the interchange at Hamilton Place, was among six critical transportation projects identified in TDOT's three-year plan, which includes infrastructure investments for 58 individual project phases in 34 counties across the state, according to the release.
TDOT records show the land acquisition portion of the I-75/Hamilton Place mall project was included in the state's 2021-23 plan.
(READ MORE: Preparations begin for bidding phase 2 of I-75/I-24 split project)
TDOT's I-75-Hamilton Place mall interchange project, with an estimated price tag of $59 million, is intended to create a full-access interchange at Hamilton Place Boulevard, TDOT spokesperson Beth Emmons said Thursday in an email. Hamilton Place Boulevard is the road that crosses over I-75 as an on-ramp to the southbound side and also runs the length of the Hamilton Place property parallel to I-75 and through the north end of the mall area.
"The project is a modification of an existing bi-directional interchange to make it a fully-functional interchange," Emmons said. "There is already an exit to Hamilton Place Boulevard from I-75 northbound and an entrance ramp to I-75 southbound from Hamilton Place Boulevard. Those ramps will remain relatively unchanged by the project."
Improvements include a new ramp to allow traffic leaving the mall area to enter northbound lanes of I-75, Emmons said. The ramp will merge with the Shallowford Road northbound on-ramp north of the Shallowford Road interchange before it enters the northbound lanes of I-75.
"Another ramp will be added to allow traffic traveling on I-75 southbound to exit to the mall area," Emmons said. "This will be a combined exit with the Shallowford Road southbound off-ramp."
The project scope also includes three bridges, retaining walls, intelligent transportation system capability, lighting and one noise wall at the north end of the project along I-75 southbound to shield an apartment complex and nearby neighborhoods from traffic noise, according to Emmons.
"TDOT SmartWay is an example of the state's intelligent transportation system," she said. "The full complement includes a system of live cameras, large electronic message boards, traffic speed sensors and transportation management centers to monitor traffic and assist in reducing congestion on Tennessee's urban interstates."
The project will be combined into one contract and built along with a city of Chattanooga project on Hamilton Place Boulevard, she said. The city project is funded locally, she said.
So how does the upcoming road construction project sit with commuters?
"Yay, I can't wait," Cleveland, Tennessee, resident John Thomas said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Thomas, 51, commutes daily from Bradley County to the downtown Chattanooga area and is sorely disappointed phase 1 of the $132.6 million I-75/I-24 split project didn't improve traffic more on Interstate 24.
"That mall interchange project should help holiday traffic, but it's not going to do anything for rush hour traffic, I don't think," he said.
It's usually about a 35-minute drive each way, and Thomas has dodged sporadic orange barrels for the past 17 years.
Thomas said the next five years' driving to and from work during rush hour will be a slow-moving experience to test his patience. Phase 2 of the split project will go to bid in late-2022 and that will only double the trouble when that work begins, he said.
"By the time I retire they'll have all that fixed," Thomas said.
The 2022-25 three-year program emphasizes repair and replacement of bridges. The comprehensive program is funded through the state's Improve Act of 2017, which hiked fuel taxes and electric vehicle registration fees to provide for infrastructure investments in all 95 counties.
(READ MORE: Early steps in proposed Bonny Oaks widening project underway in Chattanooga)
The other critical projects include a relocation project on Alcoa Highway in Knox County; work on Nolensville Pike from Old Hickory Boulevard to Mill Creek in Davidson County; construction on State Route 141 from north of State Route 10 to Cedar Bluff Road in Trousdale County; construction on State Route 1/U.S. Highway 70 from the Camden Bypass to the Tennessee River in Benton County; and work on State Route 194 for free-flow interstate access to a proposed site on a new connecting route to Interstate 40 and State Routes 1, 59 and 222, according to officials.
Besides the 2023 budgeted program, partial plans for 2024 and 2025 are included in the three-year program, officials said. The comprehensive multimodal program contains components for rail, waterway and aviation projects, funds statewide initiatives to improve safety and addresses congestion through the state's HELP roadside assistance truck and incident management programs.
It also provides funding for transit agencies in all 95 counties supporting both rural and urban transit services throughout Tennessee, officials said.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.