New flyover ramp on Nashville’s I-40/Briley Parkway Interchange opens

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Drivers in Nashville, Tenn., will experience smoother and less congested travel with the opening of the new flyover ramp on the Interstate 40/Briley Parkway interchange, a project that had been delayed until American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars were made available. The project, which links I-40 East to Briley Parkway North, received $32 million in Recovery Act dollars, the second largest Recovery Act project in Tennessee.

“This ramp opened today because of Recovery Act dollars,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The I-40 Briley Parkway interchange project is a great example of what the Recovery Act was designed to do – put people back to work and restore our transportation infrastructure.”

The I-40/Briley Parkway interchange project is located just west of downtown Nashville in a rapidly growing area of the city. The interchange provides direct access to several distribution hubs located off Briley Parkway, including Fed Ex and UPS. An estimated 42,000 vehicles use the interchange each day.

“The Recovery Act is delivering transportation projects that otherwise would have remained on the shelf,” says Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, who attended the opening. “Instead of half-finished highways and interchanges, these funds are bringing projects to completion and making communities more livable all around the country.”

The second phase of project, which began in July 2009, was delayed until Recovery Act funding was available. Expected to be complete in August 2011, it also includes a new ramp from Briley Parkway South to I-40 West, noise barrier walls and the replacement of the White Bridge Road Bridge over I-40.

The first phase, completed in 2005, included new flyover ramps from I-40 West to Briley Parkway North and from Briley Parkway South to I-40 East, and was completed in 2005.