TDOT to begin Slide Repair Work on State Route 68 in Rhea County

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. –Tennessee Department of Transportation personnel and contract crews will begin work later today to repair a section of SR-68 near log mile 5 in Rhea County that is currently closed due to a slide that occurred earlier this week.  The work is expected to take approximately four weeks to complete.  The road will remain closed to through traffic as the repairs are underway. 

Recent wet weather caused a portion of SR 68 that connects Spring City in Rhea County to Crossville in Cumberland County to become destabilized and slide down the slope, closing the road.  The site of the slide is approximately three miles north of U.S. 27 in Spring City, Tennessee.

The repair work will be done using TDOT forces and crews from GeoStabilization International, LLC (GSI) under a statewide on-call maintenance contract for soil nailing and slope stabilization. 

During the work, loose material will be removed from the slide area and the remaining slope will be stabilized using soil nailing.  Soil nailing is an on-site soil reinforcement technique where soil nails are placed into the natural ground at relatively close spacing to increase the strength of the soil mass.  As the bars are being drilled, grout is inserted into the hole to ensure that the soil nail stays put. 

After the slope is stabilized using the soil-nailing method, the contractor will construct a retaining wall to further reinforce the area, drainage improvements will be made, the entire area will be backfilled with new material and the roadway will be rebuilt. 

Message boards are posted notifying the public of the closure and detour routes will be signed.

From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel or Chattanooga area alerts @Chattanooga511 or any of TDOT’s other Twitter pages. As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination. Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.

In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lost three workers in the line of duty. All three were struck by passing motorists. Those tragedies bring the total number of TDOT lives lost to 112. We don’t want to lose another member of our TDOT family. We’re asking you to WORK WITH US. Click on the WORK WITH US logo to learn more or go to the website at https://www.tn.gov/tdot/work-with-us/.

###

###