CITYVISIONS
Follow-Up
on Issues Featured on CityVisions
Ed Cole of the Tennessee Department of Transportation
discusses TDOT’s Plans for Nashville & Middle Tennessee
About
TDOT
Transportation is so basic that many of us overlook its overwhelming
importance in our daily lives. Practically everything used in our homes,
offices or schools across Tennessee - from furniture to food items to
clothing - requires a large and complex transportation network which
is why keeping Tennessee moving is the primary goal of the Department
of Transportation.
In the winter, transportation maintenance crews sometimes get up at 3
a.m., or may stay out all night, keeping roads clear of snow and ice.
In the spring and summer, they stay busy filling potholes, cutting grass
and picking up litter. These functions all coincide with the department's
mission to plan, implement, maintain and manage an integrated transportation
system for the movement of people and products, with emphasis on quality,
safety, efficiency and the environment.
Today, Tennessee's road system stretches 87,259 miles, enough to circle
the world more than three times. Of that figure, 13, 752 miles are on
the state-maintained highway system, representing 16 percent of the total
highway miles within our state and carrying 72 percent of the traffic.
Included in the state highway system are 1,074 miles of interstate highways.
Although the interstate system makes up just over one percent of the
total highway mileage, it carries one quarter of all the traffic in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is also responsible for other
forms of transportation - aviation, public transit, waterways and railroads.
The department's involvement ranges from airport improvements to funding
transit buses to planning for river ports. Aviation safety, transit management,
railroad rehabilitation and mobility for our elderly and handicapped
are recognized by the department as important elements in Tennessee's
overall transportation system as we approach the next century.
For more information on TDOT, its services, and its long-range plans,
visit the TDOT website at www.tdot.state.tn.us/default.htm.
