TDOT to Use Updated Process for Accepting New Projects

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will use an updated process in accepting new projects across the state.

Stacy Morrison is the Region 2 Supervisor for TDOT’s Office of Community Transportation (OCT).

“The Improve Act was recently passed, which took all of the projects in the backlog and put them into the process,” Morrison says. “So now we’re looking to develop new projects. We’ve developed a new process where folks will make their request to us where folks will make their request to us. Then we’ll take a look at that, collect the data, and then follow up with them on what we want to do next as far as that project goes.”

TDOT officials presented the updated process to members of the Dale Hollow Rural Planning Organization (RPO) District in Cookeville Thursday.

Morrison says the new process will benefit smaller communities looking to tackle larger projects.

“Through our rural planning jurisdictions, this is an opportunity for those rural jurisdictions to have a voice and for us to take that information, and take that up to our leadership at TDOT,” Morrison says.

Andrea Noel from the Office of Community Transportation says the new process will help keep officials informed on where road projects stand moving forward.

“As [local officials] come up with ideas for new projects, instead of calling a senator or the commissioner and never knowing where the project stands or never getting an answer back, ” Noel says, “we wanted a way to track this and give an answer, and to be one point of contact.”

The new six-step process is currently being tested in Jackson County. The project being used for the application was not named during the presentation.