TN.gov Newsroom

NASHVILLE – All travel lanes on a portion of US 31 in Williamson County near State Route 840 will be open to traffic by 6:00 a.m. Friday, May 21, 2010. The northbound lanes have been closed for several days as repairs to a large sinkhole were completed. The sinkhole, which was approximately 26 feet deep and 25 feet wide, developed following the recent flooding in Middle Tennessee.

 

 

NASHVILLE – As Tennesseans celebrate National Bike to Work Week a new ranking shows they now have more bike friendly paths and roadways to travel. The League of American Cyclists recently announced their third annual Bicycle Friendly State rankings. Tennessee jumped an astounding 19 spots in one year. The state moved to 24th place this year from a ranking of 43^rd in the 2009 report. 

 

“I’m pleased to see this marked improvement in Tennessee’s bicycle friendly ranking, but there is much work left to do,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Clearly one area where improvement is needed is educating the public about safe bicycling and driving practices.”

 

JACKSON, Tenn. – Two separate construction projects will result in travel delays in Memphis and Henderson County this weekend. Work is underway to complete the final demolition of the existing State Route 104 Bridge over Interstate-40 in Henderson County.  Meanwhile, crews working on I-55 will repair a flurry of potholes created by the recent heavy rains and flooding.

 

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews will reduce Interstate 65 North and South in Sumner County to one lane this weekend as repairs to the bridges that cross over US 31W (Springfield Highway) continue. I-65 at mile marker 98 will be reduced to one lane in each direction from Friday, May 21, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. until Monday, May 24 at 6:00 a.m.

 

NASHVILLE—Governor Phil Bredesen announced today that federal and state aeronautics grants totaling $2.5 million have been approved for four Tennessee airports.

 

 

Chattanooga, Tenn. – Emergency repairs are now underway on Interstate 24 at mile marker 127 near the Grundy/Coffee County line where a large sinkhole opened up in the eastbound lanes at around 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 18. The Tennessee Department of Transportation awarded a $266,960 emergency contract to Highways, Inc. today at 3:30 p.m. Central Time to repair the damaged section of I-24 immediately. TDOT hopes to complete repairs and reopen the roadway by Saturday, May 22. The sinkhole is located between mile marker 127 and exit 127 and is estimated to be 25 feet wide and 25 feet deep. Until repairs are complete, traffic will be detoured off I-24 at exit 114 to Highway 41 then to State Route 50 and back onto I-24 at exit 127.

 

 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Crews working to stabilize the section of rock slope above U.S. 129/State Route 115 in Blount County will turn their attention to the large rock mass, known as a rock buttress, at the center of the slide today. The rock buttress has held the remaining slope above the highway in place since the March 14 rockslide that closed U.S. 129. However, the buttress is cracked and could eventually give way, causing another substantial rockslide. 

 

 

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, in cooperation with the University of Tennessee, is reviewing more than 170 applications for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants through the department’s Clean Diesel Grant program. The grants help Tennessee trucking companies and private truck owners in the state pay for idle reduction technologies. Grant funding is still available.

NASHVILLE – Due to severe damage from the flooding that occurred in early May, a portion of State Route 7 in Maury County will be closed for several months. Heavy rains saturated the ground underneath the pavement, causing two sections of the roadway to collapse and slide down a steep embankment. Traffic is currently being detoured around the roughly 3 mile stretch of SR 7, which is located in the Santa Fe community in the northwest section of Maury County.

 

The two landslide areas involve approximately 1500 feet of roadway. In some places, the road sank 20 feet below its original elevation. TDOT has initiated an emergency contract for geotechnical studies of the soil in the area and for the design of the repairs.

NASHVILLE – A portion of US Highway 70 in Davidson County damaged by the recent flood is now open to traffic. Clean-up and repair operations were completed this afternoon, allowing contract crews to reopen the section of US Highway 70 between Newsom Station Road and McCrory Lane in the Bellevue area of Nashville.

 

The flooding that occurred two weeks ago triggered a large slide that covered the roadway with large amounts of rock and debris. TDOT initiated an emergency contract, which was awarded to Civil Constructors on Friday, May 7, 2010. Since then, approximately 2,000 cubic yards of material has been removed from the area. New pavement and striping have also been applied to the roadway.