Weekend Lane Shift Scheduled for I-24 East on Sunday Night, August 22 as Chattanooga Bridge Project Begins

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A bridge rehabilitation project on I-24 East over U.S. 27 North in downtown Chattanooga is slated to begin soon. In anticipation of this project, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will implement a change in the traffic pattern on I-24 East this weekend.

 

 Beginning Sunday, August 22, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. EDT the contractor will be performing a lane shift on I-24 East to detour traffic in preparation for the rehabilitation of the I-24 East Bridge over U.S. 27 North. The lane shift will be completed and the new detour route will be opened to traffic at or before 6:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, August 23, 2010. For the duration of the project, scheduled for completion in mid-November 2010, I-24 East traffic will utilize the ramp at Exit 178 as a detour route for I-24. Should inclement weather prevent the lane shift from taking place as scheduled, it will be rescheduled for Monday night, August 23, 2010.

 

Work on the bridge on I-24 East over U.S. 27 North will begin next week. The contractor has already reconfigured some of the striping and installed barrier rail on U.S. 27 and I-24 East in preparation for the upcoming work. As a result, the ramp from U.S. 27 South to Broad Street will be closed until the completion of the project in mid- November.

 

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will assist with traffic control during the work and detours will be posted and new overhead signage installed.

 

Mountain States, LLC is the prime contractor on the project which includes the rehabilitation of the bridge on I-24 East over the U.S. 27 ramp to I-24 East (mile markers 177 to 179) and the rehabilitation of the bridge on South Seminole Drive over I-24 (mile markers 181 to 183). The $2.8 million project is funded through TDOT's Better Bridges Program. Through the Better Bridges Program TDOT will replace, repair or rehabilitate 200 state owned structurally deficient bridges in Tennessee by 2013.

 

For more information on road conditions in Tennessee, please visit the TDOT SmartWay web site at www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway/ or call 5-1-1 from any land-line or cell phone. TDOT is also on Twitter.  For travel alerts in the Chattanooga area follow @Chattanooga511 or follow @TN511 for statewide alerts. 

Motorists are reminded to use all motorist information tools responsibly. Drivers should refrain from texting, tweeting or using a mobile phone while operating a vehicle. TDOT advises drivers to "Know before you go!" by checking traffic conditions before leaving for your destination.

 

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