Why doesn't Nashville have a bypass? (Memphis, Chattanooga: transfer, subdivisions, prices)

[gbone]

The reason Nashville doesn't have a bypass is we like people to slow down and stay awhile.

[Big TR]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

I wonder if they laugh when they hit rush hour traffic in downtown. Plus, once the connection to I40 is complete, some traffic goes 40E to 65S and other traffic goes 40E to 24E and vice versa (north to west and west to west). That alone is a considerable amount of traffic that will be taken out of downtown/440. It doesn't have to be TOTALLY about how much traffic would go around the city to get back onto 40EorW.

There will be little traffic flowing from I40 to 65S. If a truck was coming from the West and heading East down into Florida or something like that, they'd just take US 78 down to Birmingham out of Memphis. It's not an interstate, but it's basically one.

Same deal on I24. It dies in Chattanooga. There's very little OTR trucking initiating from the Southeast portion of the state. If a truck is going West from Atlanta, it's going to cut across on I20 to Birmingham and take US78 west.

Look at the population centers and how Nashville plays into things from the West and South. If you zoom out on the country as a whole on the map you'll see that 840 isn't a bright idea.

I agree that there are now a few distribution centers along the way. But mainly what 840 does is encourage more population sprawl by making some commutes that were previously unthinkable now a reality. Rather than spend the money building public transportation infrastructure, it's being spent putting cars on the road for a longer commute.

[shinestx]

Nashville's approach has been more to build up/around the spokes instead of the beltway approach. Of course Briley has developed as a "spoke hopper" as well as 440 (to some degree, but it was obsolete when it opened twenty years ago). Nashville's topography hampers the development of a pure beltway bypass.

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by Big TR

There will be little traffic flowing from I40 to 65S. If a truck was coming from the West and heading East down into Florida or something like that, they'd just take US 78 down to Birmingham out of Memphis. It's not an interstate, but it's basically one.

Same deal on I24. It dies in Chattanooga. There's very little OTR trucking initiating from the Southeast portion of the state. If a truck is going West from Atlanta, it's going to cut across on I20 to Birmingham and take US78 west.

Look at the population centers and how Nashville plays into things from the West and South. If you zoom out on the country as a whole on the map you'll see that 840 isn't a bright idea.

I agree that there are now a few distribution centers along the way. But mainly what 840 does is encourage more population sprawl by making some commutes that were previously unthinkable now a reality. Rather than spend the money building public transportation infrastructure, it's being spent putting cars on the road for a longer commute.

Yep, that's pretty much all it's good for.

[tntitans21399]

840 was mainly to help truck drivers to use 840 to go around the city and help ease traffic from the big trucks.

[groovamos]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

Yep, that's pretty much all it's good for.

I was visiting with friends a few years ago, and they were of the opinion that 840 was a boondoggle. Now I'm not so sure, this one could be one that was gotten right, although my condolences to those who lost property. The truth is, Nashville is situated right in the middle between the Midwest and the deep South, and with 6 interstate spokes, you know it will only increase in importance for distribution. I went to a Vanderbilt awards banquet here at the bodacious Houstonian conference center where they awarded an influential and active VU Houston alum and a faculty member. The faculty guy was Chinese, had never heard of Nashville while in China but had recently made the move from Canada to VU. He even made the observation to me that he thought Nashville is specially situated as to location, after I asked him his opinion of his move. Historical note: George H.W. Bush had an apartment in the residential tower on the Houstonian grounds while president.

I haven't driven I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro in 3 decades, but my brother (in Atlanta) says the stretch is massively taken up by warehousing. So all that land along 840, being much cheaper for this purpose, serves to enhance the economic health of the region by attracting these operations.

Am curious though, is I-40 east getting a lot of warehousing too? I drove it in '94 last and I don't remember this being the case at that time.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by groovamos

I was visiting with friends a few years ago, and they were of the opinion that 840 was a boondoggle. Now I'm not so sure, this one could be one that was gotten right, although my condolences to those who lost property. The truth is, Nashville is situated right in the middle between the Midwest and the deep South, and with 6 interstate spokes, you know it will only increase in importance for distribution. I went to a Vanderbilt awards banquet here at the bodacious Houstonian conference center where they awarded an influential and active VU Houston alum and a faculty member. The faculty guy was Chinese, had never heard of Nashville while in China but had recently made the move from Canada to VU. He even made the observation to me that he thought Nashville is specially situated as to location, after I asked him his opinion of his move. Historical note: George H.W. Bush had an apartment in the residential tower on the Houstonian grounds while president.

I haven't driven I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro in 3 decades, but my brother (in Atlanta) says the stretch is massively taken up by warehousing. So all that land along 840, being much cheaper for this purpose, serves to enhance the economic health of the region by attracting these operations.

Am curious though, is I-40 east getting a lot of warehousing too? I drove it in '94 last and I don't remember this being the case at that time.

Yes I-40 E mainly between Mt. Juliet and Lebanon has a lot of warehouse and distribution activity.

[bmrisko]

I personally think 840 is great since I do a lot of traveling from Knoxville & Chattanooga to Franklin...

IMO, Atlanta needs another bypass further out than 285...the city has obviously outgrown that "bypass!"

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

I personally think 840 is great since I do a lot of traveling from Knoxville & Chattanooga to Franklin...

IMO, Atlanta needs another bypass further out than 285...the city has obviously outgrown that "bypass!"

Ew.

why don't we just connect Atlanta and Chattanooga with continuous concentric circles?

[bmrisko]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

Ew.

why don't we just connect Atlanta and Chattanooga with continuous concentric circles?

What? Those 2 cities are 120 miles apart. As it is now, there is no good way to get from I-75S to I-85N or I-20E w/o going through ATL. Another road on the north side near Cartersville/Canton/Cumming could help with that...or at least make my life easier. But, I'm not a traffic engineer...