A two-month-long closure of the U.S. Highway 27 North to West Fourth Street off-ramp starting this weekend will create some problems for drivers headed into downtown Chattanooga.
As work aims for completion by the end of the year on the $143.2 million U.S. 27 reconstruction project that started in late 2015, northbound U.S. 27 motorists destined for the downtown area will have the choice of getting off at one of two remaining exits south of the Olgiati Bridge and one north of the bridge, according Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn.
Drivers headed downtown on Highway 27 North will have to take exits at Carter Street, M.L. King Boulevard or Manufacturers Road, on the north side of the Olgiati Bridge, to reach points downtown, according to TDOT.
"This closure will be in effect until mid-September 2020 and will allow the contractor access to the area needed to safely construct a new exit ramp," Flynn said.
The project through downtown Chattanooga aims to widen and straighten the roadway's original winding path and to improve on- and off-ramps between the river and Interstate 24. Jackson, Tennessee-based Dement Construction Co. is the contractor on the project.
Downtown Chattanooga dentist Dr. Frank "Bubba" Trundle Jr., has been plowing his way through the construction project traffic to his office on Carter Street since the beginning, and the optimism he had for the project when he talked with the Times Free Press in 2016 has become frustration and impatience, though he has a sense of humor about it.
"I think every time you figure out what to do, they change it on you," Trundle said after braving the traffic Thursday afternoon.
"Thank goodness I don't have to use the Fourth Street exit anymore, and I hope they open another exit where they can get on the freeway besides Fourth Street, because now they're directing all the traffic down to M.L. King to get on," he said.
"And get rid of those dad-blamed stop signs!" he said. "That's the biggest pain that I've got right now, it's these stop signs getting on the freeway with one lane and everybody diverting into two different entrance ramps to get on the darn freeway [at M.L. King]."
Like commuters, visitors headed north on Highway 27 for the Tennessee Aquarium, the Children's Creative Discovery Museum or other attractions on the north end of the downtown area ordinarily would take the West Fourth Street exit.
Fortunately, today's motoring public is equipped with electronic devices and downtown destinations provide lots of information through social media, aquarium spokesman Thom Benson said Thursday.
"TDOT does a very good job of working with all of the stakeholders in the Chattanooga area with updates on the construction project, and anytime there is something that's going to cause a challenge for visitors, we try to use our communication channels to get that information to them," Benson said.
"This project's been ongoing for some time, so we've made some changes to our website to include alternate routes, such as coming up Broad Street," Benson said. "But in addition to that, a lot of people these days are using Google Maps or other navigation tools like Waze that will let you know when there is a construction zone or a closed exit, and it reroutes you automatically."
Some folks might still be caught off guard but Benson said media coverage, TDOT updates and information posted on social media by downtown area businesses and attractions help keep downtown visitors up to date.
"In the past several months, the contractor has done two major traffic shifts on the project," Flynn said of recent work. "On May 2, they shifted traffic to the final alignment on the mainline of U.S. 27 South. On June 19, they did the same thing on U.S. 27 North."
Less than a week ago, the M.L. King Boulevard on-ramp was closed, creating an outbound work-around to get onto Highway 27, so motorists are seeing some new patterns as portions of the work are completed and others are begun. The detour is a simple left turn off of M.L. King Boulevard onto a new loop ramp that swings traffic up to the northbound lanes. That closure will remain in place until the new M.L. King Boulevard to Highway 27 North ramp is completed later this year, according to TDOT.
"Both of the recent ramp closures will help the contractor to be able to tie everything in from West M.L. King Boulevard to West Fourth Street," Flynn said. "This Saturday's temporary closure of the off-ramp from U.S. 27 North to W. 4th Street is another piece in the larger puzzle that is the U.S. 27 project."
Construction on the project is now deep in its fourth year.
TDOT Region 2 director and assistant chief engineer Joe Deering announced in December that the project was behind schedule after problems arose when the contractor encountered "10 times more rock than estimated" during construction of the project's largest wall in the summer of 2018, TDOT officials said last year. There were also more underground voids discovered than were originally estimated, and new surprises lurked in other areas from old building and fill sites under the former roadbed.
The cost of the project also climbed sharply from its original $80 million price tag when the project started ramping up in 2011 and 2012 to $126 million as work started in late 2015. Over the course of the project, the cost has risen another $17 million. Funding to pay for the rising cost is borne by the state and federal governments, officials said.
Work since December has flowed smoothly and the project is slated for completion by the end of the year with the project cost staying at $143.2 million, Flynn said Thursday.
Despite his frustrations, Trundle said he has hope.
"That is the one thing that's good about it; they're running out of things to mess with us on," Trundle laughed, remarking he was impressed with the crews' ability to keep working while battling 2020's record-setting rain.
"I think it's going to be for the good," he said, then hedged, "Call me in 2021 because, you know, 2020 is such a screwed up year, there's no telling what could happen by the end of the year with that freeway.
"I'm not holding my breath on a finish in 2020. Nothing's gone right yet in 2020," he said. "But I am so ready."
While construction continues downtown and elsewhere, drivers can get the latest on construction activity and live-streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at TDOT's traffic website or simply dial 511 from any land line or cellphone for travel information, or follow TDOT on Twitter for statewide travel or Chattanooga area-specific alerts.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.