Bypass, Belmont bridge on governor's budget list

In August 2008, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander inspected a railroad overpass in eastern Shelbyville designed to accommodate the planned northeastern bypass. From left are Walt Wood of Shelbyville & Bedford County Chamber of Commerce; Bedford County Highway Superintendent Stanley Smotherman; Alexander; Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright; State Sen. Jim Tracy and State Rep. Curt Cobb.
(T-G File Photo by John I. Carney)

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The legislature will have to approve the governor's budget request.

The bypass, which the state says has "received strong support from state and local leaders," will be funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funds. Tennessee Department of Transportation will oversee the projects.

"The Recovery Act is fundamentally about creating and retaining jobs during one of the toughest economic times our nation and state have faced since the Great Depression," said Bredesen in a news release. "This three-tiered program represents a record investment in Tennessee's transportation system. The Recovery Act, along with the bridge bonding and TDOT's regular program, will put thousands of Tennesseans to work rebuilding and strengthening one of Tennessee's largest economic drivers, our transportation system."

The bridge replacement, which the state will fund with a bond issue, is being requested in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, while the widening of U.S. 41-A is being requested for the upcoming 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Stimulus-funded projects, including the bypass, will be let to bid in May and June of this year. One criteria for receiving federal stimulus funds was the ability to start work as soon as possible, in order to create jobs.

"Not only will these transportation projects help create or save tens of thousands of jobs for Tennesseans, the end result of this investment will be a more reliable transportation system," said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely in the news release. "This three-tiered program represents a responsible, balanced and community based approach to transportation. Years of planning and study have gone into each of the projects funded for construction."

It was 20 years ago, in 1989, when the City of Shelbyville first passed a resolution calling for a feasibility study for a bypass. Eight years later, a map of a proposed route was delivered to city and county officials. A bypass project in Tullahoma had stalled due to local disagreements, and Shelbyville stepped in with its request.

The bypass will run from U.S. 231 north of Shelbyville clockwise to U.S. 41-A east of the city.

The original plan called for a northwestern loop as well, but it's not clear when or if that will be built. That northwestern loop would start at 231 and curve southwest to State Route 64 west of Shelbyville.

The transportaton program proposed by Bredesen includes more than 450 projects including each of the state's 95 counties.

Tennessee received $572 million in Recovery Act funds, according to the news release. Of that amount, $85.8 million was distributed directly to the state's 11 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the City of Murfreesboro, leaving $486.2 million for distribution by TDOT.

On the web

List of all projects: www.tn.gov/tdot ; TDOT stimulus web site: www.tn.gov/tdot/recovery