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If you've ever traveled to major cities around the country, there is a chance you have passed through a toll road. Despite Nashville's growing population and popularity as an "it" city, it does not require drivers to pay a fee in order to use the roads. However, there is now a possibility that this may change in the future.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is exploring the possibility of introducing toll lanes in certain areas of Nashville, News Channel 5 reports. The department is teaming up with Vanderbilt University and Tennessee State University to conduct a study to "explore the feasibility of alternative systems to the existing [HOV] lanes."
Included in the study would be research that would look into converting the outbound and inbound High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Interstates 65, 24 and 40 into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. According to the news outlet, a previous study indicated that violation rates of current HOV lane restrictions in Middle Tennessee are 80-90%.
HOV lanes are corridors for vehicles with more than one person inside that aim to reduce congestion and improve air quality. There are some exceptions to this rule, including a person on a motorcycle, emergency vehicles and transit vehicles. HOT lanes also focus on the same issues but would charge a fee for vehicles that don't meet the HOV lane requirements.
According to TDOT, the study is "strictly a research project" that is exploring options to improve Nashville traffic.