Just about anything — a wreck, flashing police lights, even rain — can snarl traffic at the Interstate 75-24 split.
A pre-planned snarl starts this evening at 7 p.m. and runs until 5 a.m. Monday as road crews shutter all but one or two northbound lanes of the region’s main traffic artery, I-75.
The closings are to allow repairs to the span over Spring Creek, but Tennessee Department of Transportation officials are warning motorists to expect delays and to take alternate routes.
“My advice is to use an alternate route if possible,” said Jennifer Flynn, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “If you must travel on I-75 North through the area of the 75-24 split, please be patient, use caution and watch for workers in the roadway.”
In Georgia, there may be similar slowdowns today as the Georgia Department of Transportation closes portions of I-75 North to inspect two railroad overpasses. Officials are closing the outside northbound lane from Exit 333 at Walnut Avenue to Exit 341 at Varnell Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
While crews hope to mostly complete the Tennessee road project this weekend, they may be back several times between now and the scheduled mid-November wrap, Flynn said.
But this will be the longest delay, she said.
“The reason the contractor will require a longer closure this weekend is because the concrete used for the bridge deck repairs needs adequate time to cure before all lanes on the bridge are reopened to traffic,” Flynn said.
Future closures will be confined to evenings, and those may not result in as much traffic congestion, she said.
For this weekend, the Tennessee State Patrol will attempt to move motorists through the repair zone quickly, and East Ridge police say that, if traffic gets congested on Ringgold Road, they can accommodate the surge of vehicles.
“We can react and change traffic light patterns and other maneuvers to help out,” said Officer Erik Hopkins, police spokesman. “We can deal with any problems.”
The Spring Creek bridge repair is a $291,000 project that is part of a statewide effort to shore up 200 structurally deficient bridges by 2013, Flynn said.