The third stage of widening a 3.4-mile stretch of Apison Pike will begin next month, Collegedale Public Works Director Eric Sines reported at the City Commission’s meeting Feb. 3.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation-led project will begin in mid-March to create a five-lane thoroughfare with sidewalks, bike lanes and greenway connections from Ooltewah-Ringgold Road east to Layton Lane by the Collegedale Municipal Airport.
The first phase of widening began in 2014, connecting I-75 from the Volkswagen exit to Old Lee Highway. The second phase widened Apison Pike to Ooltewah-Ringgold Road in September 2017.
A fourth and final phase will ultimately make the 0.9-mile stretch of Apison Pike from Layton Lane to East Brainerd Road into five lanes, including a center turn lane, and install bike lanes and sidewalks.
Gov. Bill Lee included the third phase in his Tennessee Department of Transportation’s 2020-2023 plan for infrastructure projects. In December 2019, TDOT awarded the contract to Charleston, Tennessee-based Wright Brothers Construction Co. Inc. for roughly $93.2 million.