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August 2014
Construction Begins on New I-40 Interchange
By Terry Louderback
An aerial view looking east of the new I-40/Canada Road interchange, showing the
single stoplight at the center of the bridge. In the upper left can be seen the connecter road to be built between Huff N Puff Road and Beverle Rivera Drive. Image
courtesy of TDOT.
At July 10th a public information meeting held in Lakeland, Tennessee Department
of Transportation officials
and representatives from
engineering and construction
firms presented the latest
views of the future I-40 and
Canada Road interchange.
According to TDOT officials, construction will begin
next week with an estimated
completion date of May 31,
2017 and price tag of $28.2
million. A handout provided
by TDOT showed the estimated construction schedule,
contact information, and
detailed which parts of the
interchange would be the
focus of work.
Phase 1, lasting from Summer through Fall 2014, will
see the construction of the 140 median and areas of the
interstate west of Canada
Road.
Also during Phase 1, the
western end of Huff N Puff
Road will be closed before it northbound and southbound
reaches Canada Road and traffic on Canada Road.
traffic re-routed through a
When completed, the I-40
new connector street to Bev- and Canada Road Interchange
erle Rivera Drive located will be a single-point urban
immediately behind the Shell interchange (SPUI), similar to
station. A traffic signal will those on Walnut Grove Road
ultimately be installed at at Humphreys Boulevard and
Canada Road and Beverle Germantown Parkway, but
Rivera Drive.
with the free-flowing road (IThe planned extension of 40) passing below the seconthe eastern end of Beverle dary road.
Rivera Drive to connect with
During the construction, IHuff N Puff is a City of Lake- 40 will be widened to six
land project and is planned lanes, in preparation for the
for construction in Summer/ eventual widening of the
Fall of 2015, according to interstate between Exits 18
Lakeland City Manager Chris and 25 (see below). The
Thomas.
center lanes will not be
This winter, construction opened for traffic until that
will begin on the western half project is completed.
of the new bridge, while the
old bridge will remain open to
traffic. TDOT representatives
clarified that while the interchange will never be completed closed, there will be
times that traffic will be rerouted in due to separation of I-40 at Canada Road. Image
courtesy of TDOT.
LAKELAND NEWS
New Finance
Director
Hired
Jessica Snell Frye
has joined the City of
Lakeland staff as
Finance Director.
Fr ye
will serve
as general
acco untant
and
auditor of
the city and will
oversee preparation
of the annual budget
and capital budget for
all funds. She will
also help assure that
all financial operations are performed
in compliance with
applicable local,
state, and federal
laws.
Frye is a Certified
Municipal Finance
Officer, a Certified
Municipal Clerk and
Recorder, and a
member of the Tennessee Government
Finance Officers
Association.
Lakeland
Athletic
Complex
Plans Move
Forward
The City of Lakeland was recently
informed that it
would be allowed to
transfer a previously
approved state grant
for the development
of a municipal park
from property that the
city was trying to
purchase in 2012 on
Highway 70 to land
it already owns south Future entrance to Lakeland Athletic
of
M e m p h i s - Complex off Memphis-Arlington Road.
Arlington Road.
The
$250,000
A2H Landscape
A team of commugrant requires a 50/50 architect Jay Easter nity, business and
match. In this situa- described the results government represention, the City of of Phase 1 as “a big tatives conducted an
Lakeland will place green grassy hay- visual analysis of the
approximately 16 of field.”
level of litter, illegal
the 100 acres in the
Future phases may signs, abandoned/
parcel into a perma- be funded with addi- junk vehicles, and
nent recreation ease- tional recreation outside storage. using
ment. The estimated easements. Drawings a scoring system
value of the land from an earlier park ranging from 1-4,
equals $250,000 and proposed for the site with “1” being the
represents the City’s in 2008 show four best to “4” being the
financial contribu- baseball fields and worst. The Litter
tion.
two soccer fields
Index for Lakeland
A public input
rated over a 2, which
meeting was held on KLB Focuses
is classified as
July 22 to discuss the on Litter
“slightly littered” to
project.
“littered.”
Phase 1 of the
On April 1, Keep
In an effort to
project
includes Lakeland Beautiful reduce the amount of
clearing, rough grad- created a Community cigarette litter, Keep
ing, and seeding Appearance Index in Lakeland Beautiful is
approximately 12 to order to help develop giving city residents14 of the flattest acres a local plan to change free pocket ashtrays
of the future park. A attitudes and behav- as well as ashtrays
construction entrance iors regarding litter that fit in a car drink
and gravel parking and related commu- holder. Ashtrays are
area are also included nity improvement available at City Hall.
in the plans.
issues.
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