Interstate 24, east and west, reopened in downtown Nashville after a weekend road construction project to replace and rehabilitate bridges closed it for almost two days.
Crews completely closed I-24 from the Interstate 40 split east of downtown Nashville to the Interstate 65 split north of downtown. Traffic was being diverted onto I-40 and I-65.
During the closure, drivers were told to expect congestion on the interstates around downtown Nashville, as well as local routes in the East Nashville area.
This was the second closure of the project, which began at 8 p.m. Friday. Although it had been expected to last until 6 a.m. Monday, officials said the interstate reopened around 6 p.m. Sunday.
During this second weekend closure, crews demolished and replaced the westbound half of the I-24 Spring Street Bridge, continued paving and repairs on the Silliman Evans Bridge over the Cumberland River, and performed maintenance and paving around the Shelby Street exit.
The project began on Friday, September 29 during the first closure that lasted until the evening of Sunday, October 1.
At least two more weekend closures will be needed to complete the project.
The work has been part of a $28.5 million project to replace the I-24 Oldham Street and Spring Street bridges, as well as make other maintenance improvements along the corridor.
The bridges will be replaced using Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) methods, which speed up construction and repair of highways and bridges by allowing short-term, total road or bridge closures to allow crews the space to do their jobs and the ability to work around the clock.
This plan has been set to dramatically reduce the time to complete a project and the long-term inconvenience to drivers.
