“That particular bridge will be built sometime. It may not be in my lifetime, but at some point it makes sense to do it. And I hope it’s sooner rather than later.” — Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, quoted in Times Free Press, Nov. 16, 2008
The idea for a bridge spanning the Tennessee River between Soddy-Daisy and East Hamilton County has been around since the 1970s.
However, the idea grew legs in 2007 when the state General Assembly passed the Tennessee Tollway Act, which approved a limited number of toll projects in the state. But in 2016, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials abandoned the project, saying it was no longer affordable.
Eight years later, with the northern and eastern parts of the county growing faster than other parts, the idea has new life.