Tennessee Roads Ranked Among Best in Nation for 8th Year in a Row
Nashville, Tennessee – Tennessee roadways are some of the best in the nation according to a national magazine representing the industry that uses the roads the most – truck drivers. This is the eighth year in a row Overdrive Magazine has named Tennessee’s highways among the top five in the nation, in addition Interstate 40 in Tennessee is listed as the best road in the nation. This year, Tennessee is ranked third nation-wide behind Texas and Florida.
“The consistently high ranking of Tennessee’s transportation system from the people who use it most certainly enhances the opportunity for future growth and development in this state,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “I’m pleased to see the hard work of TDOT employees garnering attention on a national level. All Tennesseans can be proud to see this reflection of their investment in this system.”
Overdrive Magazine polls more than 700 truck drivers across the nation each year asking them to rate the nation’s roads, state by state. The survey includes opinion about the quality of the roads, the smoothness of the riding surface, road markings, construction detour availability and more. Overdrive Magazine began surveying truck drivers across the nation 13 years ago.
“TDOT works hard to maintain our roadway system and is once again proud to accomplish this ranking,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Faced with an aging system, our maintenance and planning forces do all they can to keep our highways in the safest and smoothest condition possible. Their work along with the support of the public as well as state and local officials allows this department to continue to earn this recognition from the industry that transports the important goods we all use.”
The same magazine survey also named Interstate 40 in Tennessee the best road in the nation.
“Interstate 40 is one of the busiest roadways in the state,” Nicely added. “This distinction, along with the third overall ranking, says a lot about the product delivered by the contractors who work with the state to improve our existing system along with building new roads.”
“The Tennessee Road Builders Association is proud of the work our contractors provide on highway projects throughout the state,” said Johnny Coleman, President of the Tennessee Road Builders Association. “We are working closely with TDOT to continue producing high-quality products for Tennesseans, but Tennessee’s transportation system is facing tight financial times. Solving this funding issue will take courage and bold commitments if we are to keep our roadways among the best in the nation.”
The five best and worst roads as mentioned by Overdrive Magazine are:
| BEST ROADS | WORST ROADS |
| 1. Texas 2. Florida 3. Tennessee 4. Georgia 5. Virginia |
1. Louisiana 2. Pennsylvania 3. Missouri 4. Arkansas 5. Michigan |
| BEST ROAD | WORST ROAD |
| 1. I-40 Tennessee 2. I-20 Texas 3. I-75 Florida 4. I-80 Ohio 5. I-81 Virginia |
1. I-10 Louisiana 2. I-80 Pennsylvania 3. I-40 Arkansas 4. I-5 California 5. I-40 Oklahoma |
Overdrive Magazine is a monthly magazine distributed to trucking industry representative around the country.
More information about the truckers’ survey and the magazine itself can be found at www.overdriveonline.com