East Ridge’s almost $9 million improvement project along Ringgold Road is nearing the halfway point, and work will switch sides of the road starting Monday near Weldon Drive.
Meantime, two other intersection closures remain at McBrien Road and East Ridge Avenue, with the latter set for a quick finish next week regardless of weather conditions, according to East Ridge officials. Detours for East Ridge Avenue drivers are in place until then.
Talley Construction, based in Rossville, Georgia, is the contractor on the project.
“Construction work has begun and will be completed rain or shine,” East Ridge Development Administrator Cameron McAllister said of the upcoming intersection work Tuesday via email.
One of the closures, put in place on the south side of Ringgold Road at the McBrien Road intersection Feb. 13, will remain until mid- to late-April, according to city officials.
Abigail McJunkin, a 22-year-old lifelong resident of the East Ridge area, had a longer perspective of the project than some of those caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic Tuesday afternoon on Ringgold Road at Tombras Avenue.
“I know the traffic is terrible, but I’m in a business where the process is messy, but the end game is worth it,” McJunkin said as she kept an eye on her young son, Jet, and boyfriend, Caleb Livingston, as they played on equipment at the playground. “I used to be 12 or 13 walking around down here. I think it’ll be a lot safer. The people who walk will appreciate it.”
Staff Photo by Ben Benton / Talley Construction will close the intersection on the south side of Ringgold Road at East Ridge Avenue, shown here Tuesday, starting Monday. The work is part of an almost $9 million multimodal project expected to be finished in June.McJunkin said she was eager to see the end product when both sides of the road are done.
McAllister said the project is expected to remain on track for a June finish. Work on the north side of Ringgold Road will include a new traffic pattern, but some of the snarls on the other side should let up soon, he said.
“The westbound lane on the north side of Ringgold Road will be closed,” McAllister said. “However, in return, the eastbound lane on the south side of Ringgold Road will be reopened.”
On Monday, Talley crews closed the south side of the intersection at East Ridge Avenue for the week to relocate gas lines, and starting Monday, new storm drainage pipes will be installed at that intersection, to be completed in 24 hours’ time, according to officials.
Talley is installing a 10-foot-wide path for pedestrians and bikes 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.
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The project launched in the summer also addresses stormwater runoff, which represents about half the cost, officials said at the beginning of the work. The project also improves entrances to properties along the way.
Some surprises in underground utilities as the project passed the first of the year slowed some of the work in the South Moore extension area, but McAllister said it’s still unknown how much impact those surprises will have on the project’s cost.
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.
Ringgold Road is East Ridge’s segment of U.S. Highway 41 and has sidewalks of varying age intermittently scattered along the four-lane road through town but with little connectivity, according to officials.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has a role in the project for monthly inspections, according to state officials.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
Staff Photo by Ben Benton / A Talley Construction crew works on a new concrete entrance for the SmartBank building on the corner of Ringgold Road and East Ridge Avenue on Tuesday. The entrance will be bracketed by a new 10-foot-wide, shared-used path, part of an ongoing multimodal project expected to be complete in June.