Starting Wednesday and continuing through the end of the year, there will be nightly lane closures on Interstate 24 as state contract crews begin work on the new South Moore Road and McBrien Road bridges spanning the gap over the freeway between East Ridge and Chattanooga's Brainerd community.
The work starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday is part of the $161 million phase 2 of the reconstruction project at the I-24/Interstate 75 interchange known as the split, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesperson Rae Anne Bradley said in an emailed statement.
"The contractor will use rolling roadblocks to stop traffic for up to 30 minutes at a time on I-24 to set new bridge beams," Bradley said in the statement. "Only one direction of I-24 will be temporarily closed at a time. After 30 minutes, traffic will be allowed to clear and/or return to a free flow condition before starting another closure. This process will be repeated throughout the night until all beams have been set."
TDOT's tentative work schedule 9 p.m.-6 a.m. through Jan. 3:
— Dec. 13 and 14: South Moore Road bridge over I-24 east.
— Dec. 18 and 19: McBrien Road bridge over I-24 east.
— Dec. 20 and Dec. 21: McBrien Road bridge over I-24 west.
— Jan. 2 and Jan. 3: South Moore Road bridge over I-24 west.
"Drivers should consider an alternate route and are encouraged to avoid the area during these times," Bradley said. "Significant delays are expected."
The contractor on the project is Charleston, Tennessee-based Wright Brothers Construction Co. No closures are planned from 6 a.m. Dec. 22 to 6 a.m. Jan 2.
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Drivers should follow all posted signage and remain alert to changing traffic conditions, according to TDOT. The work is weather-dependent, and should inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances cause delays, it will be rescheduled to take place at a later date. Law enforcement will monitor traffic and assist with traffic control.
Between the phase 2 work and an ongoing 1.2-mile sidewalk and drainage project in East Ridge, drivers are frustrated and fed up with the traffic snarls, East Ridge City Manager Scott Miller said.
"I live on the south side of I-24, and I'll tell you the congestion is just astronomical for me — and for residents, it's probably more so," Miller said in a phone interview. "Our problem is a little more complicated because we've got Ringgold Road from McBrien to Weldon under construction, and that's going to be that way until at least the summer of 2024."
Traffic during rush hour backs up so much that some motorists take to East Ridge's back roads to search out a way around, and that's leading to complaints from residents of some of those formerly quiet streets, Miller said.
"The traffic in the neighborhoods has just gotten heavier and heavier and heavier," he said.
Miller said he and East Ridge officials plan to urge the state to get North Terrace and South Terrace reopened and back to a normal traffic flow as soon as possible. On a positive note, he said folks in East Ridge appreciate the contractor moving some of the work on I-24 to nighttime to ease traffic congestion.
Phase 2 of the project started in July with the closure and demolition of the old South Moore Road and McBrien Road bridges so more lanes could be added beneath them, and a new traffic pattern resulted from the closures taking traffic around the bridge construction areas via North Terrace and South Terrace and across the new Spring Creek Road and Belvoir Avenue bridges that were part of the first phase.
Together, the split project's two phases are intended to answer decades of backups and crashes at the interchange by changing the design of traffic flow, adding lanes to make the freeway at least three lanes wide in all directions, replacing several bridges and improving on-ramps and off-ramps, according to transportation officials. The first phase included a new bridge over I-24 at Spring Creek Road and two separate, but complementary, bridge projects were completed in 2021 at I-24 over Germantown Road and on Belvoir Avenue over I-24 in separate contracts.
I-24
The I-24 portion of the second phase extends eastward from Spring Creek Road to Germantown Road. All lanes in both directions on I-24 between those two points are being reconstructed, with newly designed on- and off-ramps installed for South Moore Road. One new lane in each direction are being added between Germantown and South Moore roads, and two lanes are being added in both directions between South Moore and Spring Creek roads, plans show. Noise walls, like the one near East Gate Town Center adjacent to the I-24 off-ramp, will be erected along the project borders going west.
New lighting is planned for the new South Moore Road and McBrien Road bridges, too, TDOT said.
I-75
On I-75, both sides are being widened by one lane to match the just-completed, existing alignment inside the interchange area from just south of the CSX railroad bridge to the East Brainerd Road exit, and the railroad bridge is being replaced entirely on both sides of the interstate, plans show.
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Throughout the second phase, a 51-inch median barrier will replace the existing median barrier within the project area, all existing concrete will be rehabilitated, all guardrails replaced and new lighting and overhead roadside signs will be installed throughout. plans show.
Drivers should note that Moore Road and McBrien Road over I-24 are closed, and the ramps between Belvoir Avenue and Moore Road remain closed, according to the state's weekly roadway activity report. The closures and detours will remain in place for about eight more months.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.