HAYWOOD COUNTY, Tenn. — The next phase of a major two-year rehabilitation project will go on through May and will restrict lanes in both directions at the North Carolina and Tennessee state line.
Crews will construct a new median wall that will stretch for five miles down the westernmost part of Interstate 40. Part of the process requires lanes to be closed so that crews can work safely.
"The wall right now is so low that you or I or a whole lot of viewers could step over it. That’s not exactly the safest wall that could be built in an area," NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama told 10News.
There will only be one lane open in both directions on I-40 between the state line and mile marker five through May, as the inside lanes are closed.
“We’re replacing the wall now while we’re doing the rehabilitation because it has never been improved since the interstate opened," Ted Adams, a Division 14 construction engineer, said. “You can step over the wall right now. It’s that low. The new wall and other improvements will bring the wall up to modern standards and make the interstate safer.”
Half of the project has already been completed. Crews have milled out the old surface on the interstate and laid down a new surface, replaced drainage systems and installed a guardrail from Fines Creek to Cold Springs Creek Road.
“We know this will be an inconvenience at times, and there will be delays,” Adams said. “But completing this work in this manner at this time of year is the best option considering the constraints of the mountain corridor. The project will provide better and safer driving conditions for at least 10-15 years into the future.”
The spokesperson said this is the best time of year for a big project like this.
"We have just completed the holiday season, that’s heavy traffic. In summer there’s heavy traffic coming from Knoxville or even points further North," Uchiyama said.
The construction is not designed to prevent landslides like the one that closed I40 last year.