Highway 45 Bypass ranks high on governor’s repair list

JACKSON, Tenn. — As Gov. Bill Haslam calls for a gas tax increase to help fund road improvements, one major project on TDOT’s wishlist is the Highway 45 Bypass.

Anyone who regularly drives on the Highway 45 Bypass in Jackson can most likely agree it needs some upgrades.

But if the governor’s proposed gas tax hike passes, improving conditions on the busy highway is just one roadway project the money would fund.

“What this money would allow us to do would be able to get to those projects, have them under contract and completed within 12 to 13 years, versus 50 years without it,” said Jason Baker, Region 4 director for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The governor’s proposal calls for a seven-cent increase on per-gallon tax. The gas tax increase would be the first in Tennessee since 1989.

Currently, the state levies just a little more than 21 cents per gallon.

Haslam has outlined millions of dollars of highway projects in each county that could be done if that hike is approved.

That includes more than $30 million in Carroll County, which Huntingdon mayor and former commissioner of transportation Dale Kelley says is absolutely needed.

“The people of West Tennessee needs to understand that transportation is so important to our continued growth and development,” Kelley said.

But not everyone thinks raising tax on gas is a good thing.

“We run diesel truck, and I think that’s 15 cent per gallon, which is going to make a big difference in our bottom-line profit,” Carroll County resident Aubrey James said. “We are against it, big time.”

If the hike is approved, the governor hopes to have most of the projects underway within six years.

To see a full list of proposed projects, you can visit the state’s website here.