Transportation Bill Passes

Last week the Tennessee state legislature passed one of Governor Bill Lee’s main priorities. That was his $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act. The legislation gives TDOT the resources needed to solve the state’s current and future mobility challenges, including seeking the use of public-private partnerships to preserve state funds for rural infrastructure priorities. It would also explore the creation of Choice Lanes to decrease congestion in metro areas. Those Choice lanes would be like express lanes where motorists could pay a fee to drive on those lanes allowing them to stay out of heavy traffic. The law also would expand what is referred to as the alternative delivery model. That allows TDOT to eliminate a lot of red tape when building new roads which the governor says will save taxpayer dollars and deliver road projects more efficiently. The transportation bill got support by both republicans and democrats. It passed both the house and the senate last week.