East Ridge/I-75 improvements: Highway access work to kick off in three months

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/18/17. Motorists travel on and past the I-75 East Ridge exit on January 18, 2016. The interchange will be reworked removing the clover leaf design streamlining  access to Highway 41 and Camp Jordan Parkway.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/18/17. Motorists travel on and past the I-75 East Ridge exit on January 18, 2016. The interchange will be reworked removing the clover leaf design streamlining access to Highway 41 and Camp Jordan Parkway.

Orange construction barrels will be popping up soon at the East Ridge exit on Interstate 75 for a project local leaders see as a straight shot to prosperity.

Work is expected to begin in April to untangle the entry/exit ramps on the east side of Exit 1 and build a direct connection to a realigned Camp Jordan Parkway.

City leaders say that's the next step toward unleashing the development potential for the area around Bass Pro Shops.

"It's going to allow access into Camp Jordan much more easily than what we've seen in the past," East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert said.

"What we believe will be several restaurants and a couple hundred thousand square feet of additional retail" are expected once the new entry is in place, Lambert said.

"It's going to mean increased tourism because of access to the park, [enhancing] our ability to be a more attractive venue for tournaments. It also means higher sales tax revenue based on all the development, as well as higher hotel-motel revenue."

Bass Pro Shops opened in July, and the city's sales tax revenue in the next five months was up 19 percent from the prior year, he said.

The budget for the project is $2 million, but City Manager Scott Miller isn't sure that's going to be enough. East Ridge and Hamilton County each put up $500,000, and the state Department of Transportation kicked in $1 million, he said.

"Anything over that will be our responsibility, and I'm sure it will be over that," he said. But he and Lambert both say the investment will pay off big-time. This project is part of $11 million the city has put into the development so far.

"It has to be done, and I will find the dollars," Miller said.

The project consists of tearing out the loop-type entry and exit ramps at I-75 and replacing them with straight ramps. Just across Ringgold Road from the northbound ramp, the city will build a new mouth for Camp Jordan Parkway that will eliminate the existing dogleg turn off Ringgold Road.

Besides easing access to the new retail center and Camp Jordan, the project will improve safety.

Now, people trying to get to Camp Jordan from northbound I-75 have to cross two lanes of traffic, get into a turn lane and make a left turn across traffic and another sharp left to actually get on the parkway.

Miller said he used to travel through the intersection regularly.

"I can't tell you how many times I've come over there heading east and you'd see some car ignore the yield sign (at the top of the exit ramp) and scoot across two lanes of traffic," he said, adding he's probably seen "five or six" accidents there in the last few months.

And trying to manage traffic in and out of Camp Jordan during events is a nightmare, he said.

"If we have a major event at Camp Jordan, we could pull up 8,000 cars easily. The whole area really gets bogged down and slows down."

Lambert said TDOT's share also is aimed at greater safety. Drivers won't have to negotiate the looping ramps, and those entering I-75 northbound will have a longer merge lane.

Jennifer Flynn, spokeswoman for TDOT's Chattanooga office, said the agency worked with East Ridge to make sure the project will mesh smoothly with the eventual $65 million rebuild of the I-75/I-24 junction just up the road.

"The project to modify the on and off ramps of I-75 North at Exit 1 and make improvements to Ringgold Road will facilitate traffic movement by improving traffic flow at this very busy area," Flynn said.

A nearby business owner also is looking forward to the makeover, though he said construction work during the height of the tourist season will be a hit to his business.

"We are hoping the sooner it gets done, the better it's going to be," said Dennis Patel, owner of the LaQuinta Inns and Suites at Exit 1.

Making the exit easier to use and more inviting can only help local businesses, Patel said.

"Who would want to wait in line or slow down in traffic when people are on time clocks? Do you want to slow down, or just take the next exit?

The rebuild "will be more convenient for people who are traveling who are willing to stay here at Exit 1, not just my hotel but any hotel."

Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.

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