News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Baxter’s I-40 interchange project set to begin construction at some point in 2027.
T-DOT Region 2 Director Danny Oliver said the project has been in the design phase for about a year. Oliver said the focus of the project is to reduce the queuing on ramps to ensure vehicles are not backing up onto I-40’s travel lanes.
“There’s a lot of truck traffic and if you ever try to go eastbound and wait to turn left you may have to sit for a little bit,” Oliver said. “So having the left turn lanes underneath the bridge for along the state route is imperative to this to be able to flush out and move traffic off of those ramps. So we will end up having two new bridges.”
Oliver said the project is being designed to account for the needs of the Baxter community over the next twenty years. Oliver said they will also be widening and realigning the ramps of the interchange.
“We’re looking at this really as improving the existing location,” Oliver said. “So we’re not really changing some things, but some fine tweaks on the ramps as well.”
Oliver said that over the next couple years the only impact to the area will be T-DOT crews and contractors doing onsite work like surveying and geotechnical drilling.
“If anybody sees that we want them to be aware we’re out there,” Oliver said. “Always remember to slow down and move over if possible if we’re working in the vicinity.”
Oliver said they will not know exactly how construction will impact traffic until their final design plans are completed.
“We usually set (a) time frame once we get to later stages in design,” Oliver said. “Again, to know how we’re going to phase the removal of the bridges and the construction of the bridges.”
Oliver said the project originated in 2022 as part of a statewide effort to improve rural interchanges.
