Progress in Tennessee: U.S. Bicycle Routes & the Heritage Music Trail

Recently, I sat in on a meeting with bicycle advocates from Bike Walk Tennesse, Outdoor Chattanooga, Elle Colquitt from Mini Adventure Series, transportation consultants from RPM Consultants, and the Tennessee bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, Jessica Wilson, to talk about a myriad of opportunities for Tennessee bicycle routes, including a Music Heritage Bike Trail from Memphis to Nashville. This route lies within the USBR 80 corridor -- which means as a U.S. Bike Route, it will have a double punch.

Luckily, Tennessee is blessed with a great number of state roads that are excellent for cycling. This will make route development much easier as will the work by an extraordinary bike route developer named Bruce Day. Check out his routes which mirror the USBRS National Corridor Plan.

The Tennessee DOT will also be revisiting their state bicycle routes since they don't connect cities. This is the perfect opportunity to engage cycling groups in route development, while using contracted services to evaluate road conditions in order to build on what already exists.

Another state is primed for implementatioin. As they say, "Tennesse is America at its best!"

photo #1 on Pleasant Shade Highway, courtesy of Ed Thomas of Fogbee Cycle Club, Hendersonville, TN

photo #2 Chilhowee Mountain, courtesy of Elle Colquitt

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM is written by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.