State Route 194 (Project Blue Oval)

Executive Order (EO) 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice (EJ) in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (1994) requires FHWA and TDOT to develop a strategy for their programs, policies, and activities to avoid disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low-income populations with respect to human health and the environment.

As outlined earlier, because minority and low-income individuals comprise the majority of the population within the affected project area, TDOT and FHWA determined that there are very likely disproportionate impacts to the minority community since any impacts from the project are most likely being predominantly borne by the minority community.

The purpose of the Community-Based Mitigation Plan is to facilitate meaningful engagement as intended under Executive Order 12898 and United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Order 5610.2C: Final Order to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, thereby ensuring full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision-making process.

To mitigate impacts of the project on the overall community and provide opportunities for the impacted community to suggest or identify potential mitigation strategies, TDOT is proposing the development of a Community-Based Mitigation Plan.

Based on feedback from the community received during previous outreach efforts, the Community-Based Mitigation Plan is framed around the following four areas:

• Community History / Preservation
• Education / Job Training
• Transportation / Multimodal
• Community Enhancements

The development and implementation of the Community-Based Mitigation Plan is intended to establish trust between the community, TDOT, and FHWA, shed light on the environmental process, and assist in the implementation of measures that not only mitigate project impacts, but also address larger issues and priorities of directly impacted residents and the larger community as a whole.

TDOT and FHWA are conducting public outreach to gather input from community members on ideas for potential mitigation strategies via the attached Community-Based Mitigation Plan Survey. This outreach will provide the community with an opportunity to:

• Share individual knowledge, experiences, and perspectives;
• Provide input on community needs and project-related impacts;
• Provide input to help prioritize the proposed mitigation measures; and,
• Give community members a strong voice in the process.

Other events will be added to the calendar as information becomes available.

Please note that event dates/times are subject to change based on weather.

Want to ask a question or make a comment about the proposed Community-Based Mitigation Plan for the project?

Please use the following methods to make a comment or ask a question to the TDOT project team. Mitigation ideas and/or comments provided/postmarked by July 15, 2024 will be included in the Draft Community-Based Mitigation Plan that TDOT is currently preparing.

• Toll Free Number – Please call 1 (800) 558-6564 (toll free) and leave a voicemail to:

Ask a Question about the Project – A TDOT representative will respond to your question within 7 business days.

Leave a Verbal Idea or Comment about the Proposed Mitigation – If you require additional information before you provide an idea or make your comment, please request that information by July 5, 2024, so TDOT can be sure to get a response to you in time for you to provide your idea or comment by the deadline.

Request to be Added to the Project Outreach Database – In addition to your name and number, please also leave your mailing address and email address.

• Community-Based Mitigation Plan Survey –Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BlueOvalCBMPSurvey to complete an electronic Community-Based Mitigation Plan Survey.
• Email – Send an email to tdot.exit39@tn.gov by July 15, 2024
• Letter – Mail a written statement by July 15, 2024, to the following address:

INTERSTATE 40/STATE ROUTE 194 (BLUE OVAL PROJECT)
Kimley-Horn
10 Lea Avenue, Suite 400
Nashville, TN 37210

TDOT and FHWA will review the community input and summarize the proposed mitigation strategies in a Draft Community-Based Mitigation Plan. The Draft Community-Based Mitigation Plan would include specific projects, anticipated funding, and identify (as appropriate) the entities responsible for implementation of the identified projects. Further, the Draft Community-Based Mitigation Plan would potentially identify additional projects that are beyond the scope of mitigation for Project Blue Oval.

The Draft Community-Based Mitigation Plan would be incorporated into the Environmental Assessment and made available to the public to review and provide comments on during the project’s public hearing process. Any public comments and community preferences for the identified mitigation projects would be incorporated into the Final Community-Based Mitigation Plan that would be made a part of the final environmental document.

After approval of the final environmental document, TDOT would implement the mitigation projects outlined in the Final Community-Based Mitigation Plan and would be accountable for ensuring that the mitigation projects are completed within a reasonable timeframe.

No-Build Alternative

Federal regulations require TDOT to evaluate a No-Build Alternative in the Environmental Assessment, which provides a baseline for comparing the other project alternatives against. The No-Build Alternative would leave the project area surrounding the Megasite as it currently exists aside from routine maintenance of the existing roadway system.

Build Alternative

The current Build Alternative proposes to construct the following six design elements (see Project Map):

Modifications to Build Alternative

TDOT began development of the Environmental Assessment for this project in November 2021. TDOT originally proposed seven design elements under the Build Alternative, with the construction of the entire Proposed SR 468 (Proposed Blue Oval City Connector between the intersection with Proposed SR 194 and the intersection with existing SR 222) identified as Design Element #5 and modifications to the existing I-40 Interchange at Exit 42 identified as Design Element #7. The total project length (including all seven design elements) was approximately 13.70 miles.

During the development of the environmental technical studies for this project, TDOT decided to remove a portion of Design Element #5 (the eastern portion of Proposed SR 468, from Fredonia Road to SR 222) and all of Design Element #7 from consideration under this project.

Instead, the eastern portion of Proposed SR 468, from Fredonia Road to SR 222, and improvements to existing SR 222 were evaluated under a separate Tennessee Environmental Evaluation Report document, which was completed and approved in December 2023.

Additionally, TDOT prepared a Documented Categorical Exclusion for modifications to the existing I-40 Interchange at Exit 42, which FHWA approved in February 2024.

For more information on the SR 222 Reconstruction and Widening (From near the southernmost Stanton-Somerville Road intersection with SR 222 to near the Camp Ground Road intersection with SR 222) click here.
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TDOT is currently evaluating the environmental impacts related to the Build Alternative. The No-Build Alternative will also be carried forward, as a baseline against which to compare the Build Alternative. As part of the Environmental Assessment for this project, environmental technical studies are being conducted based on an Environmental Technical Study Area which encompassed an area that was generally 150-500 feet on either side of the proposed Build Alternative’s centerline in order to document natural, cultural, and community resources within a broader study area than the immediate project footprint. That way, if the Build Alternative’s alignment shifts during the development of the proposed project, TDOT staff are aware of any resources that are present in that larger study area. The Environmental Technical Study Area for the Build Alternative encompasses approximately 1,924 acres.

Several environmental technical studies are still under development, the results of which will be formally published in the Environmental Assessment that TDOT is currently preparing. The public will be asked to provide comment on the anticipated environmental impacts during the Public Hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for Quarter 1 of 2025.

Examples of environmental technical studies under development include:

• Air Quality
• Noise
• Conceptual Stage Relocation Plan (Residential and Business Relocations)
• Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act- Historic Architecture, Archaeology and Native American Consultation
• Natural Resources- Threatened and Endangered Species, Streams, Wetlands, and Water Quality
• Traffic Engineering Studies
• Hazardous Materials
• Farmland
• Section 4(f)/Section 6(f)
• Floodplains
• Visual Impacts
• Land Use and Transportation
• Socioeconomic, Environmental Justice, and Economic Resources
• Indirect and Cumulative Effects