Ben Benton

5 days ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

Interstate truck traffic likely to decline as tariffs take hold 3 minutes ago by Ben Benton Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Trucks and other vehicles drive along Interstate 24 on May 9, 2025. Industry experts believe the number of big rigs on the road will likely start to decline in the coming weeks as President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs take effect.

1 week ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

Interstate, rail coordination causes delay on split project 10 minutes ago by Ben Benton Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A construction worker uses a power tool Nov. 20, 2024, under the Interstate 75 bridge over the CSX Railroad. Coordination of rail and interstate traffic while a new interstate bridge over the railroad is being built has led to a delay on the project. The length of the delay is not yet known.

1 week ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

I-75 part of split project behind schedule, I-24 on track for 2025 finish 8 minutes ago by Ben Benton Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ Work continues along I-24 on Monday, April 28, 2025. Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee’s Bledsoe, Bradley, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Sequatchie counties.

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

After 10 structure fires in about as many months, the TBI is seeking information in an ongoing probe into blazes believed to have been intentionally set around the town of Palmer, Tennessee, in Grundy County. State agents say 10 suspicious fires have been sent in the past 10 to 12 months, and they all remain unsolved, according to a statement from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Anyone with a tip that leads to an arrest could get a $5,000 reward.

2 weeks ago | timesfreepress.com | Ben Benton

Commuters driving Monday morning toward downtown Chattanooga through the Missionary Ridge Tunnels on Brainerd Road met head-on with oncoming traffic going the opposite way after the closure of the eastbound side for electrical updates. One of the two tunnels where Brainerd Road and McCallie Avenue meet will remain open throughout the project with two-way traffic, according to state transportation spokesperson Rae Anne Bradley.