Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials met with Memphis area transportation planners May 2 in an effort to coordinate 66 state and local road construction projects being planned for the next two years.

The Second Annual Project Outreach Meeting was held in Memphis. TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely, Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton, Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Interim Coordinator Martha Lott and state, county and city transportation planning staff, along with other elected officials attended the work session.

“TDOT’s Project Outreach was an excellent opportunity for the Memphis MPO members to get a comprehensive overview of all the projects that are either already under way or planned to begin in the next few years,” said Lott.

TDOT initiated the Project Outreach Meetings in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville last year, establishing the work sessions as a new communication tool between agencies to eliminate project conflicts.

“We feel this new partnership with regional planners is helping,” Nicely said. “We share strategies to identify potential problem areas and then work to reschedule projects that might cause extra complications for motorists.”

A complex set of maps, designed by TDOT’s mapping team, displayed all of the state’s planned projects for Memphis and the immediate surrounding areas for the next two years. Maps representing projects designed by the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization were also presented.

Some of the key projects showcased by TDOT included:

• a new project extending State Route 385 from South of U.S. 64 to I-40.

• a new I-40 Mississippi River Bridge.

• the reconstruction of Walnut Grove Road from I-240 to east of the Wolf River Bridge.