Chattanooga-Hamilton County-North Georgia (CHCNGA) Transportation Planning Organization Travel Model Peer Review Report

2.0 Regional Characteristics

The 2007 and estimated 2035 number of households, population, and employment for the CHCNGA-TPO region are summarized in the table below.

Approximately 80% of the region's population is in Hamilton County. Nearly 50% of the Hamilton County population is in Chattanooga.

There are a couple of geographic features in the area that are barriers to east-west travel in the region. The Tennessee River generally runs north-south through Hamilton County. There are five bridge crossings in the county, all of which are in the general Chattanooga area. There is another bridge just north of the county line, resulting in a 28 mile section of the river with no crossing. Missionary Ridge is a north-south ridge several hundred feet high that runs through Chattanooga from northern Georgia to nearly the Tennessee River. It is crossed by three tunnels and two at-grade roadways, including I-24 (which has grade and speed issues that affect traffic performance).

The model region includes three interstate freeways (I-75, I-24, and I-59) and eight US highways. Interstate 75 is the main north-south facility in the region and connects to Atlanta, GA in the south and Knoxville, TN in the north. Interstate 24 intersects I-75 on the east side of Chattanooga and travels west through Chattanooga before turning northwest to Nashville, TN. Interstate 59 intersects I-24 west of Chattanooga and heads southwest to Birmingham, AL.