A long-promised, direct link between Interstate 75 and Highway 58 is open to motorists through Chattanooga’s Enterprise South industrial park as the so-called “Yellow Brick Road” nears completion.
Drawing its nickname from local planners when it was envisioned years ago, the road is now passable to vehicles, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
However, TDOT spokeswoman Rae Anne Bradley said in an email Wednesday that more paving and other work is needed to finish the project that runs next to the Volkswagen assembly plant and its supplier park.
“Final paving per the contractor’s schedule is slated for the beginning of November,” she said. “Contract completion is expected by the end of the year.”
The first leg of the road that was constructed years ago was a part of Volkswagen Drive from I-75 into the industrial park. While the road for many years hit a large roundabout, that now is a traditional four-way signalized intersection.
The more than 9,000 people who work in the industrial park at VW, Amazon and other companies along with nearby residents will have a quicker connection between the rapidly growing East Brainerd-Ooltewah-Collegedale area and Highway 58, officials have said.
Drivers had been taking a longer, winding route through the industrial park.
Amanda Plecas, Volkswagen Chattanooga’s head of communications, said it’s too early to tell if the opening of the road is making it easier for employees to enter and exit the industrial park.
“It’s too soon to tell as construction is not yet fully complete, but employees are using the open lanes now,” she said in an email.
Dubbed the Yellow Brick Road more than a decade and a half ago, the artery was seen as helping to open up the 7,000 acres of then mostly vacant land that belonged to the Army.
The term was taken from “The Wizard of Oz” movie in which the gold-bricked trail leads to the magical Emerald City, and some officials believed the road could help bring in major companies and jobs and unlock the industrial park’s potential.
In 2008, Volkswagen announced a plan to build an assembly plant. Amazon revealed its intent to erect a huge distribution center shortly thereafter. The VW supplier park, coupled with more auto companies such as Gestamp, Plastic Omnium, Sese Industrial Services and an array of other businesses, have driven growth at Enterprise South.
A Chattanooga official told the city’s Industrial Development Board last year that VW initially didn’t want a public road running through its land. Later, he said, the German automaker had a change of heart.
“In 2012, it changed its mind and asked the state to put a public road through its property,” City Engineer Bill Payne said at the time. “That process has taken years to get under construction.”
Plecas said Wednesday that VW’s operations and security have not been affected by the opening of the road.
Another reason the project has taken so long to complete had to do with obtaining proper permitting relating to stream and wetland impacts through part of the site, along with utilities work, news archives said.
The final 1.6-mile piece undergoing completion runs from Gestamp to Volkswagen Drive and is known as Ferdinand Piech Way.
Bradley said the current contract amount is nearly $13.5 million, with state and federal money used to complete this project.
An earlier completed 1.4-mile section ran from Highway 58 to the rear of the Gestamp plant, where it dead-ended. That section’s cost was $5.5 million of state money, according to archives.
Grant funds from the city and Hamilton County for VW also were used to help rework entrances into the VW plant, according to previous news coverage.
Earlier estimates showed nearly 74,000 motorists a day travel I-75 past the Volkswagen plant exit. For Highway 58, more than 23,000 vehicles go by where the new road ties in, according to TDOT.
However, a study done for the state showed that in less than a decade, I-75 traffic will jump to more than 91,000 motorists daily, with about one-third of that truck traffic. On Highway 58, the number of vehicles will nearly triple to more than 61,500 by 2030, the study said.
Bradley said drivers on the road through the industrial park should be aware of the new traffic pattern and pay attention to a reduced speed limit throughout the project.
“Drivers should also be alert to the movement of construction vehicles and personnel around the job site and connecting roadways,” she said. “Flaggers may be onsite at times directing traffic.”
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.