NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Gov. Bill Lee announced Wednesday America’s largest public-private partnership to build Choice Lanes, or voluntary toll lanes.
DriveTN includes six for-profit companies, with most of them overseas. They’ll be in charge of building and maintaining 26 miles of I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro. They’ll pay for the $9.2 billion project, which Lee said in turn, will likely lead to more than $24 billion in value for Tennesseans.
‘There’s just so many unknowns’: TDOT provides insight into expansion of Choice Lanes
“A little over three years ago, we passed the Transportation Modernization Act, which set us on a path not only to innovate how we build and renovate roads and maintain roads, but also to innovate our approach to funding these projects years down the road,” Lee said. “I’m happy to open up this meeting, which I believe will be the beginning of a change in the way that we are able to fund and build a transportation infrastructure all across this state.”
Those companies will also collect drivers’ toll dollars, which is raising red flags for Democrats in the State House and Senate…