Planning to travel on U.S. 27? Some major changes are coming this week

As part of an ongoing widening project, a new traffic shift will go into effect on U.S. Highway 27 South this week.

From 7 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday, there will be temporary lane closures in the area of the Olgiati Bridge and Fourth Street, according to a news release from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Motorists are urged to avoid the area during that time. Those who must travel in this area should be alert and obey all signage as the traffic shift is implemented.

Once the traffic shift is finished Wednesday morning, motorists wanting to access Fourth Street from U.S. 27 South will take a new ramp at the south end of the Olgiati Bridge and turn left onto Fourth Street to enter the downtown area, the release states.

Motorists who normally use Fourth Street to access U.S. 27 South from the downtown area will be detoured to M.L. King Boulevard, where they can access U.S. 27 South.

The existing ramps to and from U.S. 27 South at Fourth Street will be closed to allow room for construction of a new bridge and a new section of U.S. 27 South.

Motorists should exercise caution when traveling through the construction zone and pay close attention to all posted signage, the release states.

This configuration will remain in place until future phases of construction are completed. Access to U.S. 27 North from Fourth Street will remain unchanged during this time.

The work is weather dependent. If the works gets delayed, it will be rescheduled to take place at a later date.

It’s part of a $143 million project aimed at widening and upgrading the thoroughfare that runs through downtown.

The upgrade – one of the most expensive of its kind in Tennessee history – has been more costly and taken longer than expected, in part due to unexpected underground problems.