Improvements coming to Hwy. 109/I-40 ramp

Chandler Inions, The Lebanon Democrat, Tenn.
·2 min read

Aug. 9—Highway 109 will be getting a facelift as the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and Lebanon look to alleviate traffic congestion at the popular thoroughfare.

City officials indicated that improvements are needed as volume continues trending up.

"There is a lot going on at the 109 interchanges," said Kristen Rice, Lebanon's transportation engineer.

During a recent Lebanon Public Infrastructure Committee meeting, Rice laid out two projects at the Interstate 40 and Highway 109 overpass and ramps that the Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon undertake. The projects aim to address the high traffic volume at that junction.

"We have asked TDOT for help," Rice said. "TDOT has initiated two separate projects for us. (Highway 109) may be an outlier for the city, but it is by far the highest traffic."

Rice indicated that construction on the overpass' second northbound left turn lane would likely begin sometime next year.

"If you are familiar with this area, that left lane backs up really bad," Rice said. "They are narrowing the lanes to add a second turn lane. They are rebuilding that entire traffic signal as well."

As it stands, the current signal cycle devotes significant time to northbound traffic turning left.

"The project will give some of that time back to the southbound lanes," Rice said.

The second project involves traffic exiting eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 to get onto Highway 109 northbound.

"There are times when the loop ramp gets backed up on the interstate," Rice said. "Going 70-80 mph on the interstate and having stopped traffic is a major issue."

Given the off-ramp's steep grade and a large amount of traffic already traveling north on Highway 109, Rice said, "There tends to be a domino effect going downstream, especially when (motorists) get to the top of the lane and meet the back-up."

The projects remain the preliminary planning phase.

Rebekah Hammonds, a public information officer with TDOT, described the project as being in the "very early stages" in an email last week.

"We recently had a site visit, "Hammonds said. "City of Lebanon officials mentioned they were going to implement a new timing plan once schools started, and our plan was to wait for these timings to be implemented. Recommendations have yet to be determined, but we will be analyzing some options."

Once the ball gets rolling, it would still be well into next year before any kind of improvement gets underway.

"A road safety audit report usually takes six to nine months to complete," Hammonds said. "Considering we are waiting on a signal-timing study from Lebanon before continuing, it'll likely take the full length of time."