TDOT Recommends Choice Lanes for I-40 Knoxville
A new study proposes tolled choice lanes and widening along a 17-mile stretch of I-40 and I-75 in West Knoxville.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Remote Work
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The Tennessee Department of Transportation recommends building choice lanes on I-40 in Knoxville, based on the I-40/I-75 West Knoxville Corridor PEL Study. The study, produced after more than two years of analysis and public meetings, is open for public comment.
Why it matters
The recommendations would shape how drivers in Knoxville move through one of the region's most congested corridors, including whether they can pay for faster access. Residents can weigh in before a long-term strategy is developed.
The 17-mile corridor would see choice lanes running from just west of the I-40/I-75 interchange to the I-40/I-75 bridge over Middlebrook Pike, including a two-mile elevated stretch from east of Cedar Bluff Road to east of Papermill Drive. Final costs and toll rates have not been set.
The players
Tennessee Department of Transportation
The state agency responsible for planning, building, and maintaining Tennessee's highways, which produced the study and is seeking public input on it.
The details
The study recommends either adding one lane in each direction for most of the corridor or building two choice lanes in each direction, with drivers able to pay for access. It found ramp metering, variable speed limits with AI support, and freight-prioritized automated trucking lanes could help but are not sufficient alone, and it rejected an express bus between Cedar Bluff Road and Sutherland Avenue for insufficient ridership.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: Study published and made available for public comment.
November 26, 2026: Public comment period closes and documents are available at libraries.
Roadmap
The study is part of a PEL process that screens long-term options before specific projects are designed and funded. It rejects a long-discussed I-75 bypass around Knoxville over community and environmental impacts, focusing instead on managing congestion within the existing corridor.
Drivers who commute on I-40 and I-75 in West Knoxville could eventually pay to use choice lanes that bypass congestion. Commenting now lets residents influence the options before any long-term strategy is set.
The takeaway
Residents who commute through West Knoxville have a window to shape a project that could change their daily drive. Submitting comments before November 26 is the most direct way to have input.
What happens next
Public comments on the study can be submitted through November 26, 2026, by email, phone at 1-855-925-2801, or mail to TDOT in Nashville, Tennessee.
Further reading
For more on how commuting patterns are changing, see Remote Work coverage in Knoxville.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WATE 6 On Your Side.
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