Tennessee Department of Transportation crews will evaluate the Moore Road bridge over I-24 to see if the structure must be reinforced following damage incurred when a truck carrying an oversized load struck it.
The truck's collision with the bridge, located at mile marker 184 on Interstate 24 in Chattanooga, precipitated an hourslong traffic jam on Jan. 7, as well as overnight repairs to try to stabilize the structure.
During the evaluation, which will begin at 10 p.m. today, the Moore Road bridge and I-24 East beneath the bridge will be closed to traffic, according to a TDOT news release. Interstate traffic will be detoured off at Exit 184 and back onto I-24 East. The Tennessee Highway Patrol and TDOT HELP trucks will assist with traffic control during the closure. All lanes will be fully reopened by 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
"This work is weather dependent," the release states. "Should weather or unforeseen circumstances postpone this work, it will be rescheduled to take place as soon as possible."
For up-to-the-minute information on traffic conditions, visit the TDOT SmartWay web site at www.SmartWay.tn.gov/traffic or call the 511 motorist information line. You can also receive traffic alerts via TDOT's multiple Twitter feeds, including statewide traffic tweets @TN511 or Chattanooga area alerts @Chattanooga511 or any of TDOT's other Twitter pages. Smartphone users can download TDOT's new SmartWay web application at www.TNsmartWay.com/Traffic to access TDOT's live streaming SmartWay cameras, dynamic message signs, incidents, construction, and road conditions on interstates and state routes.
On Jan. 7 at around 2:40 p.m., a truck hauling an oversized piece of construction equipment struck the concrete outer beam of the Moore Road bridge over I-24, causing "considerable damage to the beam," according to a TDOT news release.
The equipment was loaded onto the trailer in such a way that the boom was over 16.5 feet high, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. When it hit the overpass, debris from the bridge hit a 2014 Toyota Camry traveling behind a dump truck.
A TDOT bridge inspection team conducted a thorough inspection and determined that the beam needed to be removed.
The bridge strike was the second such high-profile incident in less than a year. On April 1, TDOT shut down the Interstate 75 South ramp at the I-24 split after a piece of the side of the ramp collapsed, tumbling onto the I-75/I-24 ramp headed to Chattanooga. One person was injured when their vehicle plowed into the fallen debris. Officials surmised that a truck carrying an illegally oversized load hit the bridge, slicing through steel cables that supported the concrete railing.