Rain forecast delays weekend shutdown of I-24 for Germantown Road bridge work

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / This temporary ramp, in the foreground, will allow southhbound traffic on Interstate 24 to re-enter the highway From South Terrace. Soon the Interstate 24 Bridge over Germantown Bridge will be replaced, necessitating that traffic be re-routed onto both North and South Terrace for a span.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / This temporary ramp, in the foreground, will allow southhbound traffic on Interstate 24 to re-enter the highway From South Terrace. Soon the Interstate 24 Bridge over Germantown Bridge will be replaced, necessitating that traffic be re-routed onto both North and South Terrace for a span.

A forecast for heavy rain has delayed weekend plans for the second closure of Interstate 24 at the bridges over Germantown Road for work to replace the westbound bridge spans, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The interstate shutdown was supposed to start at 9 p.m. Friday night but has been canceled, TDOT spokesperson Rae-Anne Bradley said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

"This weekend's closure on I-24 over Germantown Road has officially been postponed due to weather," Bradley said. "This work will be rescheduled to take place as soon as possible."

WRCB-TV Channel 3 forecasters are calling for heavy rain starting Friday night and continuing throughout the day on Saturday with a high of 70. The chance for rain on Saturday is 90% with one to two inches accumulating for the day.

When the shutdown work does happen, officials hope it goes as well for contractor Bell and Associates Construction as it did last weekend, according to TDOT. The work was completed nearly half a day quicker than anticipated.

"Great job by Bell and their subcontractors to complete this monumental task and get it done nearly 11 hours ahead of schedule," TDOT spokesperson Jennifer Flynn said in a statement.

There were some passing showers during the early part of the weekend work, but no work was delayed.

Regardless of what the weather does, the elements of the shutdown and detour will remain the same as last weekend whether it's done next Friday or sometime later when the weather does cooperate, according to TDOT.

The Belvoir Avenue bridge over I-24 was closed April 20, 2020, when the contractor began constructing that new bridge as part of a larger $32.9 million project that also includes replacement of the bridges over Germantown Road. The bridge on Belvoir Avenue was reopened at the end of March.

Originally built in 1964, the bridges along I-24 at Germantown Road and Belvoir Avenue in downtown Chattanooga were found to have structural deterioration and deficiencies that needed to be addressed, according to an overview of the project.

The American Transportation Research Institute 2021 top 100 list of truck bottlenecks places Chattanooga's Interstate 75/Interstate 24 "split" just north of the Tennessee-Georgia line at No. 7, nationally, while the interchange at I-24 and U.S. Highway 27, closer to downtown, is ranked No. 53.

The Germantown Road bridge project lies between those two troublesome interchanges.

Readers can find more information on the I-24 bridge replacement project and sign up for project updates at bit.ly/i24bridge.

Watch for updates and detour information in the Times Free Press in the coming days as officials sort out a new date for the second half of the work at Germantown Road.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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