One lane of U.S. Highway 41 has reopened

July 3, 2019 at 11:44 a.m. | Updated July 3, 2019 at 5:22 p.m.

by Staff Report

A Ford F-150 travels south on U.S. Highway 41 on Thursday, June 27, 2019, where a state slide repair project and problems with its lone open traffic lane forced a temporary closure until July 4. The closure is in place till next week while crews build temporary roads around the shifting traffic lane.
A Ford F-150 travels south on U.S. Highway 41 on Thursday, June 27, 2019, where a state slide repair project and problems with its lone open traffic lane forced a temporary closure until July 4. The closure is in place till next week while crews build temporary roads around the shifting traffic lane.

One lane of U.S. Highway 41 in Marion County is now open as work to repair the road continues.

TDOT contractor Dement Construction Company LLC is in the middle of a $16.5 million slide repair project started in May to fix four areas where the side of Aetna Mountain has given way or collapsed.

A traffic signal is being used to alternate flow through the area, located between Riverside and Guild, also known as Haletown - according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

At just over a mile long, the section had been completely closed this week so contractors could construct new detour roads. The closure meant motorists had to take a 30-mile detour just to get to the other side.

The path around Aetna Mountain has been a maintenance problem for decades, but the most recent issues arose in December and worsened in February with record-setting rain. TDOT stopped attempts at a quick fix in April and decided to seek a longer-term solution in the current project.

Work to stabilize the slope is expected to be finished in November.

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