Tennessee advances $9.2 billion toll lane expansion

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2027 and take eight years to complete. (georgeclerk/Getty Images)

A major interstate project in Tennessee that will add toll lanes to help ease traffic congestion along crowded corridors has taken a key step forward with the selection of a private-sector partner to handle construction.

Gov. Bill Lee (R) on Aug. 19 announced that a consortium known as DriveTN will be the state’s partner on the $9.2 billion project, which will add lanes in each direction along 26 miles of interstate between Nashville and Interstate 840.

The effort — construction for which is slated to begin in 2027 and take eight years to complete — is part of the state’s Choice Lanes initiative and aligns with Lee’s goals outlined in the state’s Transportation Modernization Act, which he signed in 2023. The law provides the legal and financial framework for the state to create Choice Lanes and move forward with public-private partnerships. It also created a Transportation Modernization board to oversee the program.

“When we set out to modernize transportation infrastructure in Tennessee, we knew incremental change would not be enough to meet the demands of one of the fastest-growing states in America,” Lee said.

Interstate 24 connects to major freight corridors in the region. Traffic volume has increased significantly in recent decades, with a 60% rise in traffic in the Murfreesboro-Rutherford County parts of l-24 since 2005, according to a 2022 report on Tennessee Department of Transportation data from Nashville’s WKRN television station.

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Lee 

“We challenged ourselves to think bigger and bolder, and think outside of the box about the future of infrastructure in Tennessee — not just think about the next five or 10 years down the road but think about the next 25 or 30 or 50 years down the road, and that is what we set out to do” Lee said at an Aug. 19 TMB meeting.

DriveTN is a private-sector consortium of builders and developers, which includes companies and consulting firms such as Cintra, AECOM and Transurban, among others.

Choice Lanes function as optional highway lanes with pricing that shifts based on demand in real time, with the goal of maintaining traffic flows at all times of day. Typical speeds on the lanes during rush hour are around 45 mph, the state said.

Some lanes completed during construction may open while work on the project continues.

Today, we took an historic step toward delivering America’s largest interstate Choice Lanes project in TN.

This public private partnership will innovate infrastructure, reduce congestion & deliver more than $24 billion in value for our state.

Link: https://t.co/vQOObNg0vp pic.twitter.com/XehhJ1yooV — Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) August 19, 2026

The board also authorized further development of three potential future corridor enhancements: one that could extend lanes along I-24/I-65 through downtown Nashville; another that could extend lanes along I-40 near Nashville International Airport; and a third that could extend lanes along I-24 through Murfreesboro and along I-840 toward U.S. 41.

Lee also signed an executive order establishing the Tennessee Strategic Transportation Accountability Council, which will oversee P3 revenues and advise state leaders to ensure funds derived from the program deliver long-term transportation benefits to the state.

According to a 2024 American Transportation Research Institute report, traffic congestion added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022. Tennessee was not among the top three states with the highest costs, which were Texas, Florida, and California.