Tennessee has selected a team of builders to construct toll lanes along 26 miles of Interstate 24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro.
The Transportation Modernization Board voted Wednesday to select DriveTN to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the $9.2 billion project, which will provide a projected $24.8 billion in concession value to Tennessee. State officials say this money could be leveraged to fund other transportation projects.
DriveTN is led by Spanish global infrastructure company Ferrovial's U.S. transit infrastructure developer, Austin-based Cintra. The group, which was one of four global groups vying for the project, also includes Australian company Transurban, Tikehau Star Infra (a U.S. subsidiary of France-based Tikehau Capital) and Dallas-based AECOM.
Ferrovial said in a statement Wednesday that the company has been successful with this model of toll lanes in other metro areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte and Washington, D.C.
Essentially, Choice Lanes will add lanes that motorists will have the option to use for a price. In 2024, the state’s Transportation Modernization Board unanimously voted to include the I-24 Choice Lanes in its improvement plan, which was first announced in 2023. The Choice Lanes proposal passed a federal review in June.
“We have known for some time that public-private partnerships are an important way forward, but as we present the information this afternoon, what we're going to find is that public-private partnership strategy was better than we ever thought it might be,” Gov. Bill Lee told reporters Wednesday. “What we're going to find is that this program is incredibly beneficial to the state.”
Also on Wednesday, Lee signed Executive Order 114, which establishes the Tennessee Strategic Transportation Accountability Council to provide oversight of the revenues and advise state leaders on how those resources can be used.
State officials said construction on the Choice Lanes could begin in 2027 and be fully operational within eight years.
Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Will Reid addresses reporters, Aug. 19, 2026
Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Will Reid said his agency was "ready for this opportunity" in a statement issued Wednesday.
“We did the planning, developed the project, listened to communities, and challenged the private sector to bring Tennessee its best solution," he said.
"We have moved from facing a critical transportation need without a viable path forward to an opportunity that will deliver the project, enhance communities, and improve travel. Our responsibility now is to verify the commitments, complete the required reviews, finalize the agreement, and deliver as promised.”
Republican state leaders argue the Choice Lanes will reduce congestion along I-24, though state Democrats have posed concerns about the project.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) spoke during the Transportation Modernization Board meeting’s public comment period on Wednesday, contending that the Choice Lanes will be a detriment to working-class families in Middle Tennessee. Clemmons told the board public transit should be the state’s focus instead.
“The people I represent want forward-thinking, real modernization plans that include passenger rail and more public transit,” Clemmons said. Though no toll lane prices of been announced yet, Clemmons referenced other states’ prices, which are double the hourly wage of many workers.
“This is not modernization," Clemmons said. "This is wrong.”
Construction of the Choice Lanes is also expected to result in the use of eminent domain, which could displace single-family homes along the corridor. Residents whose homes could be impacted spoke during public comment Wednesday, expressing their frustration with what they said is a lack of communication from the state throughout the process.
“DriveTN committed to a net reduction in overall right-of-way impacts, avoiding impacts to Noble Place Townhomes, a Bell Road redesign that avoids impacts to the Pan-Asia Supermarket, and eliminating the need to rebuild the Hickory Hollow Parkway Bridge,” reads a press release from TDOT.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday, TDOT officials did not have an estimate on the number of homes that will be impacted by the project.
The board also approved the potential development of extensions to the corridor, which could run along I-24, along I-40 near the Nashville International Airport, along I-24 through Murfreesboro and along I-840 toward U.S. 41.
TDOT is set to host two public meetings to share details and gather feedback about the project. These will occur on Sept. 8 from 12:30 to 6 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library Pruitt Branch and Sept. 9 from 12:30 to 6 p.m. at the Smyrna Event Center.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post. Hamilton Matthew Masters contributed reporting.
