KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Transportation gave an update on the I-640 repairs Wednesday.
Road crews were supposed to begin repair work earlier in October, however, the work has been pushed back several times. As of Oct. 25, TDOT said the repairs will be rescheduled "in the weeks to come." Once the work begins, weekend lane closures will happen to allow crews access to I-640 bridges over Rutledge Pike.
TDOT said that once phase 1 of the bridge work is complete, there will be a traffic shift to allow crews access to the other half of the bridges. Traffic will return to its original configuration once phase 2 of the bridge work is finished, which is estimated to wrap up by Aug. 2024.
The interstate repairs began in June 2022. Crews removed existing asphalt pavement layers, broke the underlying concrete layers into a gravel base and began placing intermediate asphalt pavement layers.
During the winter of 2022, several of the bridges within the project limits began to show significant potholing, which prompted further investigation of the bridge decks for potential repair.
TDOT added repair work to the bridges within the corridor and crews coordinated with the railroad to gain proper access and approvals that will allow them to proceed.
There will be a milestone completion for returning traffic to its original configuration on the intermediate pavement layer prior to the end of this year’s paving season. The contractor will then return in the Spring of 2024 to complete the final surface paving and permanent striping.
