TDOT Announces Biofuels Corridor On I-65

Drivers of flex-fuel vehicles can now count on a biofuel station being about every 80 miles on Interstate 65.

Transportation officials in four states are touting the new I-65 Biofuels Corridor, which runs from Gary, Indiana to Mobile, Alabama.

TDOT Chief of Environment and Planning Ed Cole says the project is part of a greater initiative to put more Tennesseans on the road with ethanol or biodiesel by 2010.

“And the governor’s idea from the beginning is that you would never have to drive more than a hundred miles on any Interstate and not have access to alternative fuels. That’s the target we’re using.”

But for the time being, it’s not going to be easy for flex-fuel drivers to find stations with alternative fuels. With no signage and relatively sparse service, they’ll have to plan ahead to find a biofuel station.

There are 31 such stations along the 885 miles of I-65.

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Cole says the state eventually aims to have alternative fuel stations every hundred miles on Interstates throughout Tennessee. He says currently about 90,000 vehicles in the state can run on either biodiesel or E85, which is up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. B20 biodiesel can power any diesel engine.

Alternative fuel stations in the state are listed here.

National listings are here.