A 3-mile, $4 million paving project will begin Monday on Rossville Boulevard to remove the existing pavement and replace it with a crack-attenuating asphalt mix, specifically designed to slow formation of new cracks.
State transportation agency spokesperson Gracie Shamblin said that starting at 9 a.m. Monday through 6 a.m. May 15, contract crews will close one lane in each direction on Rossville Boulevard at the following intersections:
— East 28th Street
— East 32nd Street
— East 37th Street
— East 48th Street/Dodds Avenue
All lanes will be reopened on weekends for the duration of the project, Shamblin said. There will also be night work.
“TDOT contract crews will also be paving the mainline of Rossville Boulevard Sunday through Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” Shamblin said in the press release. “Drivers are encouraged to use caution as they travel through this area and expect delays.”
(READ MORE: Ribbon cut on $328M, two-phase I-24/I-75 split project)
The project will be completed by summer 2026, Shamblin said in a follow-up email. Daytime intersection work will be completed within two weeks.
In March, transportation officials said crews adjusted maintenance holes along the route during some preliminary work to ready Rossville Boulevard for the paving project.
Asheville, North Carolina-based APAC-Atlantic Inc. was the bid winner on the project at just over $4 million, state records show. The other bid on the project from Charleston, Tennessee-based Wright Brothers Construction Co., was about $18,000 higher.
$4M Rossville Boulevard paving project begins Monday
Rossville Boulevard is one of Chattanooga’s heaviest-traveled non-interstate routes with an average annual daily traffic count in 2024 of more than 27,600 vehicles traveling in both directions just south of the interchange at Interstate 24, according to state traffic data. The average daily count at the other end near the Georgia state line was almost 25,000 vehicles in both directions.
Overall traffic congestion in Chattanooga has been increasing, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s 2025 Urban Mobility Report. Chattanooga drivers spent the equivalent of more than six workdays behind the wheel in delayed traffic in 2024, a 5% increased over 2023, and idled away an average of 11 gallons of gas.
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Compared to other non-interstate routes in town, Rossville Boulevard traffic counts are slightly lower, according to data. In 2024, Brainerd Road/Lee Highway between East Brainerd Road and Highway 153 ranged from 32,400 to 36,500 vehicles per day, and Hixson Pike’s count was almost 31,000 per day near Highway 153. East Brainerd Road had an average of almost 46,000 near Interstate 75.
State law requires drivers to slow down or move over for emergency vehicles and to obey work zone speed limits, according to the agency. Motorists should never use a handheld device while driving.
Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.