It's another Driving You Crazy Monday here at 10News, and this week we're taking a closer look at the intersection of Grainger Avenue and Sixth avenue in North Knoxville.
The Grainger Avenue bridge is currently under construction, and some drivers complain it's causing delays along detour routes. But the work was necessary to replace the bridge and improve conditions during flooding, Knoxville's Director of Engineering Jim Hagerman said.
“It’s a bottle neck for flood flow on First Creek, so that was the main reason we were replacing that bridge,” Hagerman said.
According to the project description from the City of Knoxville, contractors received a notice to proceed on the $1.8 million dollar bridge replacement on November 13, 2017.
The existing bridge has been demolished, the description report states. The footer, back wall, and wing walls are in place.
Right now, the contractor is excavating for the new bridge abutments, which will give the bridge support on each end.
With the project approaching its one year mark, though, drivers are still detouring around crews, and residents have limited access to the nearby greenway.
“It’s been well over a year, and I’m not sure if the city is on track to finish yet,” resident Con DeVore said. “I know the residents, especially the ones on Grainger, would like to see it completed, because right now it’s like a freeway in their front yard.”
So when will the project wrap up? The project description from the city has a completion date of November 12, 2018. But Hagerman said that probably is not realistic, and that the process will continue into next year.
“It should be completed by March of 2019,” Hagerman said.