If you haven’t ridden out Highway 100 near the Natchez Trace, you may not know about the new ‘rumble strips’ that the Tennessee Department of Transportation has installed. The shoulder on this section of road averages at 30″, and the new rumble strips take up 12″ of the shoulder. That leaves a meager 18″ for cyclists, forcing us to ride into the roadway (with cars going 50-60 mph), and putting us at danger if there is road debris or obstacles. Considering how many cyclists use Highway 100, it is quite a setback.

TDOT has already admitted that this was an oversight, and that they have designed new ‘cyclist friendly’ rumble strips for future projects. There was a story on WSMV about it, and Walk/Bike Nashville and Bike/Walk Tennessee are both working diligently to have the strips fixed. A link to the WSMV story.