Where Choice Lanes Stands — and Two Open Houses Next Week

In August, NewsChannel 5 reported what neighbors in Glencliff had already been living with for weeks: letters from TDOT telling homeowners their property could be in the path of the I-24 Choice Lanes. Councilmember Ginny Welsch told the station that District 16 alone could lose more than thirty homes.

The project itself has kept moving. The Federal Highway Administration approved the environmental review in June. In August the state selected DriveTN to build and operate the lanes — two tolled lanes in each direction, running twenty-six miles from downtown to I-840. Groundbreaking is tentatively 2027, with the lanes opening in 2032.

TDOT has said publicly that the letters are not eminent domain notices and that no property acquisitions are final. Both that and Welsch's number are on the record, and we're not going to pretend they sit easily together. What we can say plainly is this: a letter is not a final decision, the design is still under review, and it is not too late to be heard.

Which brings us to next week. TDOT is holding two open houses:

• Nashville — Tuesday, September 8, 12:30 to 6:00 p.m. Nashville Public Library, Pruitt Branch, 117 Charles E. Davis Blvd.

• Smyrna — Wednesday, September 9, 12:30 to 6:00 p.m. Smyrna Event Center, 100 Sam Ridley Pkwy E.

Both are open-house format — arrive any time in the window and leave when you're done. There's no presentation to be late for. If you live near the interstate, the meeting on the 8th is the one to go to. If you received a letter from TDOT, bring it with you.

And if you received a letter, please tell us. We're keeping track of which streets and which blocks are affected, and we carry those specifics into every conversation we have with city and state officials — so that what's happening on your street gets named in those rooms. We are neighbors, not lawyers. We can't negotiate on your behalf or promise you an outcome. What we can do is make sure this isn't happening to anyone unnoticed.