In a bizarre twist of politics, a lawmaker in the state of Tennessee is trying to make it a crime to work on I-69.
Rep. Matthew Hill has introduced House Bill 2785, which will make it a Class E felony under Tennessee’s criminal code for anyone at the Tennessee DOT to knowingly enter in any contract for work on I-69. Apparently, Hill wants to prevent the route from linking Canada, U.S. and Mexico.
“The whole purpose is to keep our state sovereignty intact,” Hill told The Commercial Appeal. “I’m not against roads. I’m against ceding over our state sovereignty to international authority.”
The people who live around the I-69 corridor, however, view any highway work as a way to bust out of the troubled economy, even if it would serve as a temporary fix.
State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris said I-69 is a critical link in the interstate system and did not believe Hill’s measure would pass.