Construction of the majority of I-840 was met with very little controversy. As work moved into predominantly rural southwestern Williamson County, however, a group of landowners opposed to the route began a movement to stop its construction in 1997. Between the late 1990s and mid-2000s, these landowners, spearheaded by singer-songwriter Gene Cotton, filed complaints and eventually lawsuits in an effort to have TDOT address both environmental and aesthetic issues, considerably slowing work on the segment between SR 100 and US 31. A number of criticisms were also made about TDOT's handling of the construction of the route, such as an accusation that they chose to construct I-840 as a state route to avoid federally required environmental studies. TDOT awarded the first contract for the segment between SR 100 and SR 46 on June 14, 2002, but additional litigation forced TDOT to completely cease work on this segment three months later. As a result of these lawsuits, TDOT chose to slightly modify the design and employ new construction methods on the remaining sections the following year. These changes included construction of bridges over streams feeding the South Harpeth River instead of culverts; multiple wildlife underpasses; and designation of the remaining sections as a scenic highway, which prohibits billboards and uses brown powder-coated guardrail. A proposed interchange at Leiper's Creek Road was also canceled. As part of the redesign, TDOT formed a citizen's resource team, made up of nine local residents who worked with TDOT to select the final designs and alignment of these stretches.