State Route 76 (SR 76) in Tennessee runs the length of the state starting north of Nashville and continuing until near the Alabama border. Among the areas that the over 230-mile-long highway traverses are Western Tennessee and Carroll County. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and general contractor, Delta Contracting Company, are working on a project designed to widen and improve SR 76 in Carroll County.
The current average daily traffic on SR 76 in the project area is 6,300, and it is expected to reach 7,600 by 2038. There is a 30-mph speed limit along the 12.6-mile-long project area, but traffic is often slowed due to congestion along the two-lane highway.
Therefore, the team is constructing a four-lane divided highway with partial control access and at-grade intersections. There will be dedicated turn lanes at local road intersections with 10-foot outside shoulders and improved geometrics compared to the existing two-lane roadway. The highway already has four lanes in the areas surrounding the project area.
Due to the size of the project, it has been divided into three separate contracts. There are currently two contracts let, with Delta Contracting Company serving as the general contractor on the first, and Vaughn Contractors Inc. acting in that capacity for the second.
“These two projects will provide a four-lane connectivity from I-24 in Clarksville to a four-lane connection to I-40 in Jackson, Tennessee,” TDOT District 47 Manager Ross Sherwood said. TDOT has moved forward on the first two projects because they will allow for beneficial connectivity for citizens.
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“They will reduce travel time from the northwest area of west Tennessee — which is a popular recreational area — to larger regional cities in central west Tennessee, improving both regional connectivity and local economic development,” Regional Communications Officer Nichole Lawrence said.
The project lengths were selected based on connectivity considerations. TDOT wanted to ensure road segments could be opened once completed to allow beneficial connectivity for citizens.
The third project will begin when funding becomes available since TDOT is a pay-as-you-go state. According to TDOT’s website, “No money from the state’s general fund, which relies on the sales tax, is used in any of the programs of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. ... The agency only spends the funds that are available through its dedicated revenues, the highway user taxes and fees, and federal funding.”
This philosophy has enabled the highway program to be debt-free since the mid-90s. They will only proceed with work on a project when they have the money to pay for it.
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One of the biggest concerns for the first project is that the projects are running south of the towns of Atwood and Trezevant, Tennessee, and near a local high school. “Maintaining connectivity for local citizens and ensuring the safety of the students and traveling public is of utmost importance to the department,” Lawrence said.
The team developed detours for local roads, which were easily executed. However, one particular concern was the construction of the new intersection at SR 77, where a new drainage pipe was required across the highway. It is near West Carroll High School (800-plus students from seventh to 12th grade). The original plan was to build a temporary detour at this location.
The change to the original plan was due to many factors, including community feedback and the schedule of closures that could occur when school was out. The revised detour provides a safer area for the workers and the students traveling in and out of school.
“Fortunately, a relatively short detour route on state highways was available that allowed for the temporary closure of SR 77 for this work,” Lawrence said. “The team worked with the contractor to condense the construction time and alleviate the concerns associated with traffic being on the temporary detour bounded on both sides by concrete barrier rail. The team put together a more aggressive schedule to time the work in an avenue where the contractor would be successful in fulfilling a safe and reliable transportation network.”
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The second project will have similar issues because SR 105 is near an elementary school. It includes several stream mitigation sites (totaling over 2,940 feet).
“This required maintaining the existing streams while the mitigation streams were being constructed,” Sherwood said. “The construction of these areas required a great deal of oversight due to the very specific environmental specifications and was very time consuming.”
It was all part of the environmental permits required by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for the permanent impacts of the existing streams. TDOT added boxes and had to realign those while mitigating the existing streams.
Delta Contracting Company (contractor for the first project) and Vaughn Contractors Inc. (contractor for the second project) are Tennessee-based contractors and have worked with TDOT on projects of all sizes over many years. Delta, a family-owned business, is a spinoff of Dement Construction, which was formed in 1977. Vaughn was formed in 1971 and is in its third generation of ownership.
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“They both perform quality work, and they have years of experience in earthmoving operations, which is one of the largest components of these projects,” Sherwood said.
The first project has a budget of nearly $29.5 million, and it is tracking to be on budget. The budget for the second project is nearly $38 million. The projects have the same funding sources and breakdowns — the Federal Highway Administration is providing 80 percent, and the state is providing 20 percent.
The second project kicked off in late spring 2024 and is scheduled to be completed in August 2027. It is too early to predict whether the project will finish on budget and on time, though the team is optimistic.
The first project, which began in summer 2021, is scheduled to be completed in May 2025. Sherwood said the project, “is currently ahead of schedule and barring any unforeseen delays should open ahead of next May.” The team is aiming to open to traffic by the end of 2024. Many factors have played a part in the project finishing early. They include good weather, sufficient workforce, and appropriate stable machinery/equipment. These issues have also played a part in making the project a safe one.
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Upon completion of the projects, the roadways will provide increased traffic capacity. Therefore, the traveling public will experience reduced travel times from the northeast area of West Tennessee, a popular recreational area, to larger regional cities in central West Tennessee. The new four-lane roadway will also result in increased motorist safety and greater opportunities for local economic development.
- Owner: Tennessee Department of Transportation
- General Contractor (First Project): Delta Contracting Company, Humboldt, Tennessee
- Designer (First Project): A2H, Memphis, Tennessee
- General Contractor (Second Project): Vaughn Contractors Inc., Waverly, Tennessee
- Designer (Second Project): WSP, New York, New York
