Tennessee’s Transportation System
Highway System
- Bridges: 19,693, including 8,247 state owned bridges, 11,446 locally owned bridges
- Interstate miles: 1,104
- 18 interstate rest areas
- 13 interstate welcome centers
- 9 truck weigh stations
- State maintained highway miles: 13,877
- Total highway miles: 95, 492
Airport System
- 74 General Aviation
- 5 commercial
- 142 heliports
Rail System
- 18 short line railroads on 842 miles of rail
- 6 major rail lines on 2,177 miles of rail
Transit System
- 28 transit systems serving all 95 Tennessee counties, including 18 urban and 10 rural systems
Waterways
- 946 miles of main channel miles of navigable waterways
Bicycle/Pedestrian System
- 270 miles of greenways, sidewalks and trails
- 9 bicycle trails on 1,500 miles including a single across-state trail totaling 500 miles
- 8,500 highway miles with 4-foot shoulders to accommodate bicycles
Funding
- On each gallon of gas, Tennessee motorists pay 21.4 cents of state gas tax and 18.4 cents of federal gas tax. Funds are dedicated for the Tennessee transportation system. (Budget)
Key Programs
- TDOT SmartWay is the state's intelligent transportation system deployed in all four urban areas. The full complement includes a system of 463 cameras, 151 dynamic messaging and four transportation management centers to monitor traffic and assist in reducing congestion on urban interstates. Completed systems are located in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis and a basic system in Chattanooga.
- A rural TDOT SmartWay system is located in seven rural counties in east Tennessee including cameras to monitor the Rockwood Mountain section of I-40 in Roane County.
- The TDOT HELP program was launched in 1999 to help clear interstates of congestion by removing obstacles including vehicles from the travel lanes, thereby reduce traffic impact. Since that time, millions of motorists have been assisted and impacts to traffic have been reduced.
- TDOT has motorist information programs, some of which use new communication tools such as Twitter and Facebook, Tennessee 511 aids motorist with highway information.
- Several TDOT programs promote good driving behaviors through numerous public awareness efforts including Click It or Ticket, Buckle Up in your Truck and Booze It and Lose It.
- Keeping our roads beautiful are important. These programs promote keeping our highways beautiful. StopLitter, Adopt-A-Highway, Tennessee Groves and Tennessee Roadscapes.
