Lee wraps up tour touting new roads plan

Gov. Bill Lee has wrapped his statewide tour to tout the new $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act. The governor says the new law will accelerate construction and alleviate congestion.
Here’s the release from the governor’s office:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee concluded his statewide “Build with Us Tour”, which celebrated the landmark Transportation Modernization Act and highlighted seven key infrastructure priorities across rural and urban Tennessee.
“As Tennessee continues to lead the nation with record growth, the Transportation Modernization Act will prepare our state for long term economic success and expand opportunity in rural and urban communities, all without new taxes or debt,” said Gov. Lee. “I’m grateful to members of the General Assembly for their partnership in making these historic transportation investments, and I want to thank Commissioner Eley and the entire team at TDOT for their hard work to make life better for Tennesseans in every corner of the state.”
Gov. Lee kicked off the “Build With Us” Tour on June 1 in Fentress County, traveling across each Grand Division throughout June and July. Tour stops included:
— Fentress County: Cumberland/Fentress SR-28
— Shelby County: I-55/Crump Interchange
— Madison County: I-40 Widening (US-412/SR-20 to SR-186/US-45)
— Davidson County: I-40/Donelson Pike Interchange
— Washington County: SR-34/Precision Blvd (Washington County Industrial Park)
— Knox County: Alcoa Highway Corridor
— Hamilton County: Apison Pike (I-75/East Brainerd Road)Gov. Lee introduced the Transportation Modernization Act this year and signed it into law on April 17, following successful bipartisan passage in the Tennessee General Assembly. The plan creates a new transportation strategy and will invest an additional $3.3 billion to accommodate Tennessee’s record growth, address traffic congestion and meet transportation needs across rural and urban communities.
The strategy will give the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) the resources needed to solve the state’s current and future mobility challenges, including seeking the use of public-private partnerships to preserve state funds for rural infrastructure priorities, exploring Choice Lanes to decrease congestion and increase economic impact statewide, and expanding the alternative delivery model to save taxpayer dollars and deliver road projects more efficiently.
“The Transportation Modernization Act will address critical infrastructure needs across rural and urban Tennessee, preparing our state for the future,” said Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “I commend the Governor and General Assembly for their leadership to prepare our state for continued economic growth and prosperity.”
13 chambers endorse Lee’s roads plan

Thirteen chambers of commerce from around the state are endorsing Gov. Bill Lee’s $3.3 billion roads plan, including its public-private partnerships and paid express lanes.
The chambers represent businesses in and around Nashville, Blount County, Bristol, Jackson, Kingsport, Knoxville, Memphis, Lawrence County, Clarksville, Williamson County, Rutherford County, Chattanooga and Maury County.
Here’s the release:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Chambers of Commerce from across Tennessee announced Monday their support of Governor Bill Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act of 2023. The proposed statewide infrastructure plan would approve public-private partnerships to rapidly expand infrastructure development and relieve congestion in the state’s rapidly growing urban and rural communities.
“As prosperity continues to expand, infrastructure investment becomes crucial to livability,” said Ralph Schulz, President and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. “The Governor’s proposal creates investment without debt or new taxes while fostering faster project completion, faster travel times for all drivers, and modern transportation options for all citizens.”
“As Tennessee continues to attract record-breaking investment, we must ensure our infrastructure is modern and resilient enough to match our growth. Chambers of Commerce across the state support Governor Bill Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act to ensure we continue to build on our state’s record-breaking growth,” said Charles Wood, President and CEO of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. “Our state’s sound economic policies and high quality of life have made Tennessee the seventh-fastest growing state in the country, and the Governor’s innovative transportation modernization plan accommodates for our state’s rapid growth.”
“Tennessee has seen a population increase of nearly 9% in the past decade, with a net gain of 137,100 jobs year-over-year,” said Paul Latture, President of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. “The business community depends on reliable transportation systems to ensure that citizens, freight, and visitors aren’t sitting in avoidable congestion. The Transportation Modernization Act tackles the transportation issues of today while accounting for future growth across our state.”
“Under the proposed Transportation Modernization Act, public-private partnerships allow the business community to take a proactive role in tackling our community’s most pressing transportation needs,” said Kyle Spurgeon, CEO of the Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce. “This legislation fixes roads and expands exits in rural communities, while also making it easier for our citizens to work and shop in urban metros without losing hours in preventable congestions.”
“Governor Lee’s proposed Transportation Modernization Act ensures that businesses and residents alike maintain adequate access to key markets,” said Ryan Egly, President & CEO of the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. “These public-private partnerships are good for Tennesseans and especially essential for sustaining economic development in rural Tennessee.”
“Chambers of Commerce have a long-standing support of public-private partnerships, and we look forward to the positive effects that Governor Lee’s plan will have on the alleviation of road congestion and safety in our state’s rural and urban areas,” said Wil Evans, President of the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance. “This legislation connects communities previously separated by unnecessary congestion, expanding economic access and increasing quality of life for rural citizens.”
“The Transportation Modernization Act is providing historic investments in our region’s roadways to build more exits in rural communities, ease traffic congestion, and make our infrastructure safer and stronger for generations to come,” said Miles Burdine, President and CEO of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce. “Thank you to Governor Lee and the state for ensuring that our region has the infrastructure it needs to continue to support business growth and creation.”
The Transportation Modernization Act of 2023 was announced by Governor Bill Lee on January 5, 2023.
Read Gov. Bill Lee’s victory speech here

Gov. Bill Lee won re-election on Tuesday over Democratic challenger Jason Martin. Here’s some of what Lee had to say to supporters after the Associated Press called the race:
I want to thank you and the people of Tennessee for giving me and Maria, the opportunity to serve again. Thank you.
In a republic, the people decide what happens by choosing leaders whose ideas they like the best. And tonight, and evidently, all across the country, the people have spoken clearly. And we are expecting to win by large margin. And while that feels good, it’s important, because what it means is that our ideas have resonated with people from one end of the state to the other. The people are trusting us to improve the economy. They’re trusting us to fight crime. They’re trusting us to have safe schools and schools that are successful. And we better not disappoint them. And we won’t disappoint them over the next four years.
Before I want to get into all of what I want to say tonight, I will say this: political people cringe when I say this, and when I decided — or was thinking about running a few years ago, the political experts said to me, you know, you can’t win a campaign without running negative ads. And I just have to say that our positive-only campaigns are now 2 and 0. Others will do the same across this country, our country could use it.
Thank you for your vote and for your confidence. And to those who did not vote for me, I want people to know that I take it very seriously the responsibility that I have to be the governor for all of Tennessee. Because we all do want the same thing. I’ve said a hundred times before, people want a good job and a good school for their kid in a safe neighborhood. And I wake up every day thinking about that. We’ve gotten a whole lot done in the last four years. But I decided to run again because I think we have a lot more work to do. And I thank you for giving me the chance.
You know, our economy remains very strong in this state in spite of the headwind, the national headwinds that have made it more difficult for Tennessee businesses and Tennessee families to be successful. But we have the leading economy of all states in America, and we’ve done so with the lowest tax burden on our citizens of any state in America. We’ve expanded our workforce — 75,000 jobs have been added since we came into office. We are at the lowest unemployment rate in our state’s history, we have lowered the number of rural distressed counties from 15 to 10. And we’re not done.
We brought more vocational and technical and agricultural education into our schools and all of these things equate to one thing. And that is more opportunity for all Tennesseans. I’m very proud of the fact that we have made historic investments in our public education system, and we have passed teacher pay raises every year since we’ve been here. I’m also proud of the fact that we have given more school choices for parents who want something a little different for their kid. And I’ll remind you for the next four years — and remind people all across the state — that those two ideas are not in conflict with each other. We can fund public schools and provide alternative opportunities for children at the same time if we are committed to funding students and not systems.
And as I watched these elections across the country, politicians from all stripes all across this country if they learn one thing from this election, it’s this: You pay a steep political price if you don’t pay attention to parents. And in this state, we have paid attention to parents, and we’ll continue to pay attention to parents going forward.
We’re also going to keep fighting crime, especially violent crime. While many cities in our country and states across this country have debated in the last couple of years whether to even fund their police departments, in Tennessee we’ve made a commitment to law enforcement. Tennessee has invested $100 million in local law enforcement agencies, we have doubled down on officer recruitment and training so that we can really fight crime at its source. And it’s starting to pay off. We have state troopers and patrol officers from all over the country come into this state. Because they understand that we are committed, and that we have their back.
As I think about our priorities over the next four years, I want us to talk about one other thing: We have got to tackle the issue of infrastructure. I hear about this every day, whether it’s at a political event, a campaign event, or at a meeting in my office. Or sitting around your dinner table, I bet you talk about the fact that there is too much congestion, too much traffic, and too many potholes. We are simply not building enough and maintaining enough roads in this state to keep up with the incredible growth that’s happening from one end of the state to the other. And it’s not just a big city problem, it affects everyone. Because investing in solving big city congestion drains funding away from rural communities. This is a problem that we are studying and we’re looking at ideas on how to solve this problem, you’re going to be hearing a lot more about that starting tomorrow even. But I’ll tell you this, we have a very strong budget in this state. And I commit to you that we will diligently work, tirelessly work to figure out a way to invest in our roads and bridges in this state without raising your taxes and without going into debt.
So we won’t continue to talk about what we’re going to do because tonight is really about celebrating. Thank you. Thank you for being here with us to celebrate, it’s about celebrating. It’s about thanking people. First I want to thank my campaign staff. You know who you are. Each one of you. You worked relentlessly over the past months. County captains, field staff, our volunteers. If you wrote a check to this campaign. If you put out a yard sign. If you came here tonight or came to an event. You made it look easy for us to win this campaign. But I know it wasn’t easy. So to all of you who worked so hard on on this campaign, and especially my campaign staff, I want to say thank you.
Blackburn, Hagerty not among 19 GOP senators to approve infrastructure bill

Nineteen Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted to approve a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday. Tennessee Republicans Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood and Bill Hagerty of Nashville were not among them.
If approved by the House, Tennessee would be in line to receive receive $5.8 billion in additional highway funds, plus $302 million for bridge replacement and repairs. The state also would qualify for an estimated $633 million over five years to improve public transportation options.
Hagerty had tried to peel off Republican support by blocking efforts to expedite a final vote, citing a Congressional Budget Office estimate that measure would add $256 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
“There’s absolutely no reason for rushing this process and attempting to eliminate scrutiny of the bill, other than the Democrats’ completely artificial, self-imposed and politically-driven timeline,” Hagerty said over the weekend.
Here are the GOP members who joined all 50 Democrats in passing the bill 69-30, according to The New York Times:
- Roy Blunt of Missouri
- Richard Burr of North Carolina
- Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia
- Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
- Susan Collins of Maine
- Kevin Cramer of North Dakota
- Michael D. Crapo of Idaho
- Deb Fischer of Nebraska
- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
- Charles E. Grassley of Iowa
- John Hoeven of North Dakota
- Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
- Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
- Rob Portman of Ohio
- James Risch of Idaho
- Mitt Romney of Utah
- Dan Sullivan of Alaska
- Thom Tillis of North Carolina
- Roger Wicker of Mississippi
White House details how much Tennessee would receive from infrastructure bill

President Joe Biden’s administration is detailing how Tennessee would stand to benefit from the $1 trillion infrastructure bill pending in the U.S. Senate.
Here’s the release from the White House:
— Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. In Tennessee there are 881 bridges and over 270 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.7% in Tennessee and on average, each driver pays $209 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. Based on formula funding alone, Tennessee would expect to receive $5.8 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $302 million for bridge replacement and repairs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over five years. Tennessee can also compete for the $12.5 billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges and nearly $16 billion of national funding in the bill dedicated for major projects that will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities.
— Improve healthy, sustainable transportation options for millions of Americans. Tennesseans who take public transportation spend an extra 67.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 5.6 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 21% of transit vehicles are past useful life. Based on formula funding alone, Tennessee would expect to receive $633 million over five years under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve public transportation options across the state.
— Build a network of EV chargers to facilitate long-distance travel and provide convenient charging options. The U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) sales is only one-third the size of the Chinese EV market. The President believes that must change. The bill invests $7.5 billion to build out the first-ever national network of EV chargers in the United States and is a critical element in the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to accelerate the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and
— Help connect every American to reliable high-speed internet. 5.9% of Tennesseans live in areas where, under the FCC’s benchmark, there is no broadband infrastructure. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 17% of Tennessee households do not have an internet subscription. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Tennessee will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the at least 402,000 Tennesseans who currently lack it. And, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 2,009,000 or 30% of people in Tennessee will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.
Over the coming days and weeks, we will expect to receive additional data on the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in Tennessee.
White House circulates states’ infrastructure needs, but doesn’t detail how much each would get

The White House is putting out a state-by-state breakdown of infrastructure needs it says would be addressed by Democratic President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion proposal dubbed the American Jobs Plan.
While the cheat sheets list states’ specific deficiencies, they don’t break out how much of the federal money would be directed to each of them under the plan. So take it for what it’s worth.
Republicans are blasting the plan for going well beyond the scope of what is traditionally considered to be infrastructure.
Here’s the full release from the Biden administration:
For decades, infrastructure in Tennessee has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The need for action is clear:
— ROADS AND BRIDGES: In Tennessee there are 881 bridges and over 270 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.7% in Tennessee and on average, each driver pays $209 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The American Jobs Plan will devote more than $600 billion to transform our nations’ transportation infrastructure and make it more resilient, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges.
— PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Tennesseans who take public transportation spend an extra 67.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 5.6 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 21% of trains and other transit vehicles are past useful life. The American Jobs Plan will modernize public transit with an $85 billion investment.
— RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE: From 2010 to 2020, Tennessee has experienced 40 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $20 billion in damages. The President is calling for $50 billion to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support communities’ recovery from disaster.
— DRINKING WATER: Over the next 20 years, Tennessee’s drinking water infrastructure will require $8.7 billion in additional funding. The American Jobs Plan includes a $111 billion investment to ensure clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.
— HOUSING: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 396,000 renters in Tennessee are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. The President proposes investing over $200 billion to increase housing supply and address the affordable housing crisis.
— BROADBAND: Nearly 10% of Tennesseans live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. And 46.8% of Tennesseans live in areas where there is only one such provider. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 17% of Tennessee households do not have an internet subscription. The American Jobs Plan will invest $100 billion to bring universal, reliable, high-speed, and affordable coverage to every family in America.
— CAREGIVING: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities are in need of home and community-based services. The President’s plan will invest $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.
— CHILD CARE: In Tennessee, there is an estimated $768 million gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 48% of residents live in a child care desert. The American Jobs Plan will modernize our nation’s schools and early learning facilities and build new ones in neighborhoods across Tennessee and the country.
— MANUFACTURING: Manufacturers account for more than 15% of total output in Tennessee, employing 357,000 workers, or 11.5% of the state’s workforce. The American Jobs Plan will invest $300 billion to retool and revitalize American manufacturers, including providing incentives for manufacturers to invest in innovative energy projects in coal communities.
— HOME ENERGY: In Tennessee, an average low-income family spends 8-10% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials. The American Jobs Plan will upgrade low-income homes to make them more energy efficient through a historic investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program, a new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to finance building improvements, and expanded tax credits to support home energy upgrades.
— CLEAN ENERGY JOBS: Tennessee has outsized potential for innovative energy technologies including carbon capture and sequestration and geothermal energy generation, that create good paying union jobs. As of 2019, there were 79,626 Tennesseans working in clean energy, and the American Jobs Plan invests in building that industry through a reformed and expended Section 45Q tax credit and extending renewable energy tax credits.
— VETERANS HEALTH: Tennessee is home to over 470,000 veterans, 9.4% of who are women and 45% who are over the age of 65. The President is calling for $18 billion to improve the infrastructure of VA health care facilities to ensure the delivery of world-class, state of the art care to veterans enrolled in the VA health care system. This includes improvements to ensure appropriate care for women and older veterans.
State approves $69M in water infrastructure loans for Memphis, Johnson City, and Lebanon
Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers announced three cities will received $69 million loans for water improvements through the Tennessee Local Development Authority.
Memphis will receive $48 million under the program, $15 million goes to Johnson City, and $5.7 million heads to Lebanon.
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan will address wastewater treatment plant improvements in Memphis and rehabilitation of sewer interceptors in Johnson City and Lebanon.
The state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $2 billion in low-interest loans since 1987.