TDOT chief: Investments funded by gas tax increase must not become obsolete in 10 years

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer’s seventh floor office in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center at 6th and Deadrick offers a panorama of Nashville's north side.

Below the high vista, cars on Interstates 40 and 24 appear like miniatures moving across a diorama.

It’s an instructive perspective for the head of the department tasked with maintaining the state’s transportation system and now putting more money to work as Tennessee's gas tax is set to increase on Saturday.

“I want to make sure the capital investments I spend today are not obsolete in 10 years,” Schroer said from his office, looking out on the roadways below. “Those people are affected by what I do every day, and that’s humbling.”

Read more: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/06/30/tennessee-gas-tax-increase-roads-construction-nashville-memphis-highways/405616001/