Segment 9

Segment 9 is divided into two portions: mainline I-69 and the I-269 Outer Loop. This article describes the I-69 mainline through downtown Memphis.

Segment Description
Segment 9 starts at the proposed I-69/I-269 interchange in Millington, Tennessee. It proceeds southwest, paralleling US-51 to the west to near General Dewitt Spain Airport. It then turns southeast and follows the TN-300 freeway stub to Interstate 40. I-69 then proceeds south with I-40 and I-240 through downtown Memphis, and continues south into Mississippi sharing its alignment with I-55 to the segment's southern terminus at the I-55/I-69/MS-304 interchange near Hernando.

Status
I-69 is completed and signed from the I-40/TN-300 interchange on the northwest side of Memphis to the I-55/I-69/MS-304 interchange near Hernando, Mississippi. The remaining section from the TN-300 freeway terminus to US-51/TN-385 has reverted back to environmental impact studies.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the routing of I-69 and I-269 through the Memphis area in 2007. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) received approval from the FHWA in January 2008 to install I-69 signs on sections where it overlapped existing interstate routes, notably I-40, I-55, and I-240 through downtown Memphis.

In 2009, the FHWA ordered an environmental re-evaluation and supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) when engineers discovered contaminated soil on a short section of the planned route near General Dewitt Spain Airport, forcing TDOT and the FHWA to shift this portion of the freeway's alignment to avoid the contaminated area. However, this shift would place this portion of I-69 closer to US-51, requiring the relocation of more homes and businesses than the originally approved alignment. Public hearings on the modified alignment were held in September 2010, with a final report and decision expected in 2011. Design, land acquisition, and construction will follow; the timeline for completion is dependent on funding.