The 3.4-mile third phase of the Apison Pike improvement project in Collegedale is finally closing in on its June finish line, but there is still much to do, state officials said.
“The contractor is still planning to finish within the June 30, 2025, contract completion date,” state transportation spokesperson Rae Anne Bradley said in an email.
Wright Brothers Construction Co. of Charleston, Tennessee, the contractor for the project, was initially awarded the contract on a low bid of $93.1 million, according to the agency. But unexpected utility surprises drove up the cost to $97.2 million in 2022.
As the project winds up, the cost now stands at $101.4 million, Bradley said. Surprises, including an old garbage dump, pushed costs up.
“Every project of this size runs into unforeseen conditions,” Bradley said in a follow-up email. “Most issues arise from subsurface variances. During the preconstruction phase, we drill in strategic locations and use that data to predict what we might encounter throughout the life of the project. It’s common in East Tennessee to have significantly different conditions over a short distance.
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“On this project, we encountered rock in unexpected locations that required changes to underground utilities and drainage pipes and modifications to structural foundations,” Bradley said. “In other areas, we encountered poor soils that required undercutting — additional excavation to remove poor soils and replace with rock backfill to build a solid base for the new road. We also encountered what appeared to be an old landfill that required over 700 truckloads of debris to be excavated and hauled to an approved landfill.”
Meanwhile, the contractor on the project has more to do before June 30.
Wright Brothers still must finish constructing four remaining spans of bridge decking for a total of 715 feet, Bradley said, complete the installation of an 8-foot by 3-foot box culvert and complete grading and drainage near the beginning of the project at Ooltewah-Ringgold Road.
The contractor will pave the final surface on the east end of the project from Tucker Road-Spalding Drive to east of Layton Lane, near the Collegedale Municipal Airport, and from the beginning of the project near Ooltewah-Ringgold Road to the bridge over the Norfolk Southern rail line after bridge construction is complete, she said.
For decades, Apison Pike was a lightly traveled two-lane road winding through East Hamilton County’s mostly rural terrain, but over the years, increasing development and traffic overwhelmed Apison Pike’s capacity, creating safety issues as the once-quiet communities east of Interstate 75 boomed with growth. The earliest public meetings on the project began in April 2008, and construction began in 2020.
The current phase of the project was part of a larger effort to reconstruct and widen the road from I-75 to East Brainerd Road, according to plans. Due to the significant size of the overall project, the work was split into four smaller phases. The third phase will conclude in June, but Bradley said the fourth segment, from Layton Lane to East Brainerd Road, is not identified for funding in the state’s 10-year road plan.
“The project will improve traffic flow along Apison Pike, eliminating a four-way stop intersection and an at-grade railroad crossing,” Bradley said.
The railroad crossing in central Collegedale was where a Norfolk Southern freight train collided with a long-load big rig hauling a bridge beam to the project that stopped on the tracks on Dec. 20, 2022. The collision derailed three locomotives and 10 box cars that slammed together as they left the tracks.
The tractor-trailer was carrying a 134-foot concrete bridge beam, Collegedale police said at the time. The driver, Jorge Luis Cruz-Vega, of Martinez, Georgia, was charged in the crash.
An investigation showed Cruz-Vega proceeded across the railroad crossing behind his first escort car without first making sure the tractor-trailer could completely clear the tracks, police said at the time. He also did not make contact or arrangements with Norfolk Southern Railroad about his delivery route and had stopped halfway across the tracks after his turn, swinging his big rig into the oncoming traffic lane instead of his own lane.
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The incident did not delay the completion of the bridge or the overall project’s progress, Bradley said.
For Collegedale police and local motorists, the improvement project and its traffic hassles can’t be finished soon enough.
“We remain hopeful that the Apison Pike project will be completed on schedule, as its completion will significantly improve traffic flow in and around Collegedale,” Collegedale Assistant Police Chief Jamie Heath said in an email. “In the meantime, we understand and share the frustration caused by the ongoing congestion.”
Heath urged local folks to be patient as the “much-needed” project closes in on completion.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.