The Chattanooga City Council last week approved $101,996 in additional funds for Wilcox Tunnel renovations.
The work now will incorporate a new sealant technology to combat water leaks that have been known to turn into icicles in freezing weather.
The new process calls for using an injection foam sealant instead of an injected epoxy to fix the remaining 345 linear feet of cracks to be sealed in the project. Epoxy was used to seal about 65 percent of the 981 linear feet of cracks identified for repair.
The city’s Department of Transportation has cited the new injection foam technology as being a better way of combating water seepage.
At its meeting last Tuesday, the city council voted 9-0 in favor of amending the renovation agreement with contractor Harman Walsh Industrial Services to include the foam sealant, bringing the overhaul’s total price tag to $1.43 million.
The project, in the the city’s ninth district, has received the praise of the district’s councilman, Yusuf Hakeem.
“We know that the final objective is to improve the tunnel by getting another tube, but this is a good start in that process,” Hakeem said. “I think the community is very appreciative of the work that has been done.”
The approved change order also encompasses other costs associated with the project, including additional concrete surface repairs and extra rental equipment expenses due to delays caused by repairs needed prior to linear sealant tasks.
Downtime for the Wilcox Tunnel project, which also calls for installing a new lighting system, improving pedestrian railing and resurfacing the roadway, has been a concern for local businesses since the tunnel was closed on Aug. 17.
In February, the city approved construction mitigation program that would allocate up to $25,000 to Wilcox Tunnel area businesses. The initiative will provide up to $1,000 in assistance to each eligible business owner who applies within 90 days of the end of construction.
The sealant process changeover will not affect the tunnel’s scheduled April 11 opening date, Marissa Bell, communications coordinator for the city’s economic and community development department, said in an email.
The project represents the greatest steps taken on behalf of the tunnel in the last 50 years, city Chief Operating Officer Brent Goldberg said in February 2015.
The Wilcox Tunnel, built in 1932 and owned by the city, is the oldest tunnel in the area. Other tunnels in the city, including the McCallie Tunnels, Stringer’s Ridge Tunnel and the Bachman Tubes, are owned and maintained by the state.
“When we are finished, we will have a safe, clean and attractive tunnel – not perfect, but much better than it has been in decades,” Goldberg said.
Wilcox Tunnel was opened April 22, 1931, and was named for Hamilton County Highway Commission Chairman T.S. Wilcox.