MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — While Montgomery County remains one of the fastest growing areas in the state, area leaders don’t believe the roads have kept up.
On Monday night, county commissioners met to discuss their 2025 legislative agenda items, or priorities the county would like to see state lawmakers to address. Commissioner David Shelton is one of several wanting to request Interstate 24 be widened, adding a lane on either side, from the Kentucky state line through Exit 11.
“We’ve had basically no change on I-24 from the time it was opened in late 1976 when I was five years old,” Shelton said. “In 1976, Clarksville was a town of about 30,000 people. Today, we’re almost 200,000 people. People are dying on this stretch of road. If we don’t get it widened between now and… soon… we’re going to have more problems with that.”
An expansion of Interstate 24 has made the Montgomery County Commission’s Legislative Agenda previously. Shelton said the project is on the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT’s) 10-Year Project Plan. However, he said the project continues to be delayed.
“Right now the plan, according to the state, is that I-24 will be widened starting in 2033,” Shelton said. “Eight years from now. and that’s just simply not adequate. We needed those lanes eight years ago.”
On top of bottlenecking and delays, safety is also a big concern for Shelton. The county saw 583 crashes in 2024 and nearly 500 the year before that. In addition to adding lanes on Interstate 24, commissioners will also consider asking to prioritize the widening of State Route 237, or Rossview Road.
