March 21, 2014 TDOT Commissioner Celebrates New SR 109 Bridge in Sumner/Wilson Counties
Bridge will open to two lanes of traffic on Saturday March 22nd at 7:30 a.m.
GALLATIN, Tenn. – Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner John Schroer joined state and local officials today to celebrate a milestone for the SR 109 Bridge over the Cumberland River in Sumner and Wilson Counties.
“This is a very exciting project for TDOT, one that has been years in the making,” Commissioner Schroer said. “TDOT is pleased to be able to offer more travel lanes, as well as sidewalks and a beautiful structure to this community. This bridge will serve the growing needs of Wilson and Sumner Counties for decades to come.”
The SR 109 Bridge is vital to both Sumner and Wilson Counties – serving as a “Gateway Bridge” for motorists heading north to Gallatin and Sumner County and those heading south into Lebanon and Wilson County.
Work began on the bridge project in early 2011 to replace the early 1950’s style truss bridge, which was showing signs of aging and listed as structurally deficient. The new bridge is wider and consists of four – 12-foot traffic lanes, a center median and eight-foot shoulders and sidewalks. The wider structure will make the heavily traveled road safer for both commercial and residential traffic.
The new bridge design also includes decorative columns and a 16-foot high monument with the Sumner County and Gallatin seal on the northern side and the Wilson County seal on the southern side of the structure. The $29.5 million project also widened SR 109 for about a mile and also included the replacement of a concrete box culvert located along the route north of the river with a two span bridge.
The bridge will open to one lane of traffic in each direction on Saturday morning March 22nd at 7:30 a.m.
Work will continue on the project over the next few months. Demolition of the old SR 109 Bridge will take several months and will not begin until all travel lanes on the new bridge are complete.
Approximately 16,500 vehicles travel the SR 109 Bridge each day. That number is expected to reach nearly 30,000 by 2035.
For more information on TDOT construction project activity visit the TDOT SmartWay web site at www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway/. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information or can follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel information or www.twitter.com/Nashville511 for traffic information in the Nashville area.
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