If you thought the construction traffic on Ringgold Road in East Ridge was bad so far, just wait till Monday.
East Ridge residents who regularly use McBrien Road at Ringgold Road will find their path blocked on the south side of the intersection for the next six weeks, according to officials.
Detours will be in place.
Construction is planned to begin Monday and take 42 days, a news release from the city states.
"During this phase of construction, the intersection will remain closed while crews install new stormwater drainage pipes," the news release said. "Once completed, the intersection will be re-opened for public access."
During the closure, all traffic attempting to access McBrien Road south of Ringgold Road will be redirected by alternate-route and detour signs to guide traffic traveling from either end, according to East Ridge Development Administrator Cameron McAllister.
(READ MORE: Costs increasing for East Ridge road project leading to Red Wolves stadium)
"Talley Construction has reached out to the Board of Education and local businesses and dispatched a traffic control plan to reroute all the traffic that would normally access McBrien Road down Tombras Avenue onto Bennett Road and back up to McBrien," McAllister said Thursday in a phone interview.
East Ridge police will assist with traffic control at the intersections and near the schools, he said.
School traffic
School traffic headed to and from East Ridge High School and East Ridge Middle School will also feel the impact of the closure, but at least some already use Tombras Avenue to get to the schools, according to district officials.
"It will cause some delay until parents and staff adjust and find a new way to and from school," Hamilton County Schools spokesman Steve Doremus said Thursday in an email. "Some buses already use Tombras, so several buses will see no change. There may be more than normal slow traffic around the school until everyone gets used to the change and plans their new route."
School officials are calling for patience and want to make sure everyone going to and from the East Ridge schools is aware of Monday's change, Doremus said.
"The bus drivers were advised on this last week, and they are prepared to change their route if necessary," he said.
Work continues
Meanwhile, the $8.6 million, 1.2-mile project is a bit more than one-third toward completion. Although some surprises in underground utilities bogged down some of the work in the South Moore extension area a few weeks back, it's still unknown how much impact those surprises will have on the project's cost or June completion date, officials said.
Work at the South Moore extension, which required the intersection on the south side of Ringgold Road to be closed, was part of an agreement among all parties that required that intersection to be reopened before the McBrien Road intersection was closed, McAllister said.
The contractor, Rossville, Georgia-based contractor Talley Construction, is installing a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the south side of Ringgold Road and a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side, along with new curbs, gutters and drainage structures, according to officials. The project extends from the McBrien Road intersection west to the Kingwood Drive intersection.
The project launched last summer also addressed the most significant and least visible issue of the project, stormwater runoff, which represents about half the project cost, according to officials.
The project will also improve entrances to properties along the way, officials said. Throughout its history, the pavement on Ringgold Road in many areas has flowed directly into business parking lots with little distinction between where the road ends and the parking lots begin.
Ringgold Road is East Ridge's segment of U.S. Highway 41 and has sidewalks of varying age intermittently scattered along the route through town but with little connectivity. Flooding has been a longstanding problem the project helps address, officials said.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has a role in the project for monthly inspections and progress updates.
Of the $6.5 million construction cost for the project, $3.1 million is funded by American Rescue Plan Act, passed in 2021 by Democrats in Congress. The remainder of construction funds comes from the city's general fund and debt financing.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.