With details released, Tennessee drivers weigh in on TDOT Choice Lanes proposal

So what do drivers think of the TDOT plan to build choice lanes along a stretch of Interstate 24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro?

Drivers would pay to drive in the new lanes: paying for the convenience of not being stuck in traffic.

But if approved, those lanes wouldn't be active for at least seven years, into the next decade.

"That's another generation's time," said driver Christopher Russell. "It might not be ours, we can just talk about it, but we might not live it, to see it."

The Choice Lanes would work by connecting to a transponder in someone's car — sensing when the car is in the Choice Lane, and when it isn't.

"Transponders now are not the clunky box they used to be that sits on the dash or the visor," said Bryan Ledford with TDOT. "Transponders are a smart sticker that can be read at speed."

For now, Christopher says he'll stick with his tried and true way of beating the backup on the interstate:

"The point is this: we all have knowledge, and we all drive," Christopher said. "If you don't know how to drive the backroads, that's on you."