State Sen. Jim Tracy

It's too early to tell whether a rescission of $66.3 million in federal funding to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) would impact Bedford County, according to Sen. Jim Tracy.

But Tracy stated that he would "work like crazy" to keep projects like the Shelbyville bypass from dropping off TDOT's list of priority projects.

TDOT received word from the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday that the amount was rescinded from the TDOT's federal allocation of funds for the fiscal year 2008.

This brings the total rescission of federal funds withdrawn since December 2005 to more than $237.7 million in Tennessee alone, according to TDOT.

A rescission of funds means that federal dollars promised to the state have been canceled and will not be received. The rescission of funds affects all states, not just Tennessee, TDOT said in a statement.

"I'm going to do everything I can to keep the Shelbyville bypass in," Tracy told the Times-Gazette Thursday. "It's very important not only to the county but the area as well."

Tracy also said the bypass was the region's number one project on TDOT's list. The bypass is to go from U.S. 231 north of Shelbyville to New Tullahoma Highway (U.S. 41-A), east of Shelbyville and is planned to be built in three phases during three years.

"Nearly 50 percent of the department's budget comes from the federal government, so a reduction in these revenues significantly impacts the resources available to TDOT," said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely in a press release.

"This loss of funds, coupled with the massive inflation in the cost of construction materials, further reduces our ability to address the transportation needs of the state."

Tracy also mentioned he had spoken to Nicely on Thursday about the federal cuts.

"Federal funds support a variety of programs at TDOT, such as highway maintenance, bridge repair, road building, and environmental programs," Nicely stated in the press release.

"Continuing federal shortfalls will force us to make difficult decisions in all of these areas, especially those programs which receive a majority of funds from the federal government."

Other Bedford County road projects rank as number 2 and 3 on TDOT's list: The improvement of 4.2 miles of New Tullahoma Highway (U.S. 41-A, State Route 16) between Magnolia Lane and Thompson Creek Road (State Route 276) is second on the list and the third priority is New Tullahoma Highway just east of Shelbyville to Thompson Creek Road.

Programs impacted by the latest federal rescission include: Interstate Maintenance; Highway Bridge Program; National Highway System Program; Surface Transportation Program; Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ); Recreational Trails Program; Metropolitan Planning; Equity Bonus; and Transportation Enhancements, TDOT said.