ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Tenn. DOT ready to take on dangerous I-75/24 interchange

The I-75/24 split in Chattanooga, Tenn., is where truckers run the risk of being divided in two.

The section of road is one of the most dangerous in the state, with several tractor-trailer rollover accidents reported, and officials are about to unveil $100 million worth of ideas to make the maneuver safer in the future.

The project is part of a larger I-75 corridor study that will include widening the highway to eight lanes all the way from the Georgia state line to I-24; improving the East Brainerd Road interchange and adding lanes to another stretch of I-75 between exits 11 and 20. The goal is to make the I-75/24 split safer and less congested by 2029.

“Both residents and travelers through the area have commented over time that there have been congestion or safety issues at the interchange,” Karen Rennich, deputy director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, told the Chattanooga Times and the Times Free Press.

Work would include extending and reworking ramps as well as smoothing out a sharp curve where I-75 turns northeast and I-24 merges in.