A summer-long intersection closure in St. Elmo could complicate things for motorists traveling in and around Lookout Mountain as early as this week.
Chattanooga’s Public Works Department will overhaul the intersection of St. Elmo Avenue and Broad Street, where it transitions into Cummings Highway, to improve storm drainage and prepare for a planned extension of the Tennessee Riverwalk. The project is expected to continue through August.
The intersection upgrade is part of a $17 million multiphase project to overhaul the St. Elmo basin’s drainage network, which requires extensive excavation and the installation of 10-foot-wide concrete culverts. The most recent work, which involved the closure of St. Elmo Avenue between Broad Street and West 35th Street, is about to wrap up.
“We’re actually solving a problem most residents don’t know we have before it becomes a problem,” public works administrator Justin Holland said.
The problem is that the existing storm drainage system, which incorporates metal pipes and runs underneath a commercial landfill and buildings, is wearing out after decades of use, Holland said. If the drainage system collapses, St. Elmo and parts of North Georgia could experience significant flooding and property loss. Flooding could even extend to Alton Park and South Chattanooga, he said.