TDOT halts lane closures for Thanksgiving

The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced it is halting all lane closure activity on interstates and state highways in anticipation of higher traffic volumes across the state for the Thanksgiving holiday period.

All construction-related lane closures will be stopped beginning at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22, through 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27.

“Thanksgiving is typically the most traveled holiday of the year,” said Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “Halting road work during this time will provide maximum capacity on our highways and help alleviate congestion, especially during the predicted peak travel days of Wednesday and Sunday. TDOT’s regional HELP Trucks will also be working throughout the holiday weekend to assist with incidents that may occur along the interstates. Watch out for them – move over, slow down. It’s the law.”

However, workers may be on-site in some construction zones, TDOT said. Long-term lane closures will also remain in place on some construction projects for motorists’ safety.

AAA predicts in Tennessee, 1.2 million will take a road trip – an increase of 28,000 people from last year’s holiday. With higher traffic volumes comes greater potential for crashes. Traffic fatalities are reportedly up 1.2% from this time last year.

Get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras from your desktop or mobile device at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 for travel information.