Motorists drive over the eastbound interchange of I-24 and U.S. 27, center bridge, late Tuesday morning. The eastbound bridge is labeled by the Transportation for America coalition as No. 3 on a list of Tennessee’s 10 most structurally deficient bridges with the highest traffic volumes.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press
North- and southbound I-75 at Big Spring Creek sees 121,400 cars per day. Source: TDOT
I-24 eastbound ramp to U.S. 27 northbound sees 112,170 cars per day. Source: TDOT
North- and southbound lanes U.S. 27 at 12th Street sees 78,650 cars per day. Source: TDOTFour of the 10 most structurally deficient bridges with highest traffic volumes in Tennessee are in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, according to an analysis of the National Bridge Inventory.
With crumbling edges and gaping pavement cracks, the spans are examples of the one in 16 state bridges that are in such disrepair an immediate fix would require $172 from every driver in Tennessee, states “The Fix We’re in For,” a report by Transportation for America.
Despite the fact that the report gives Tennessee high marks generally for its bridges, Hamilton County has the lion’s share of the state’s worst high-traffic spans. They are:
* No. 1 – The Interstate 75 bridge over Big Spring Creek, 1.9 miles north of Ringgold Road.
About 121,400 vehicles cross the bridge daily, according to the report.