1. How much money is Gov. Lee committing to roads and how much is needed for infrastructure projects?
Tennessee’s Highway Fund revenues fell in value by almost one-third between FYs 2021 and 2024, unable to keep up with road construction costs.
He also proposes to divert an estimated $80 million per year in sales tax from tires for the Highway Fund.
This isn’t the first time money has been transferred to the highway fund —in FY 2024, $3.3 billion was transferred from the General Fund, but the state continues to face a backlog of road projects.
2. Let’s talk about bridges – how many need repair, and specifically in Davidson County?
According to the Federal Highway Administration National Bridge Inventory, as of August 2024, there are 7,378 bridges across the state that need repairs. Now, that is a slight improvement, it’s 50 fewer bridges than in 2020, so there’s been some small progress.
However, of the 20,379 bridges in the state, 898, or 4.4 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition. That’s 17 more bridges than in 2020.
A bridge is considered structurally deficient when one of the key structural elements — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culverts — are rated in poor or worse condition. On a scale of 0-9, 4 is considered poor condition.
Eight of the most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Tennessee are in Davidson County
Over the course of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2022, Tennessee will receive $403 million in bridge formula funds, which will help make needed repairs.
3. How do the bridges compare to the rest of the country?
Of the 20,379 bridges in the state, 898, or 4.4 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. That makes Tennessee the 10th best state in terms of keeping a low percentage of these bridges.
The worst states have between 15% and 19% of their bridges classified as structurally deficient — they’re Rhode Island, Maine, S Dakota, W Virginia and Iowa.