NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A two-mile stretch of Interstate 40 will close this weekend while crews with the Tennessee Department of Transportation replace an eastbound bridge.
TDOT officials said the work is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Friday and last through 6 a.m. Monday. Interstate 40 will close from the I-40/I-65 split west and south of downtown.
Crews said Herman Street will be closed from 10th Avenue to 16th Avenue for the bridge replacement.
All traffic will be detoured around the area. Commuters were advised to plan ahead and know an alternate route.
Access to downtown will also be limited through the weekend. There will be no on or off-ramp access at Demonbreun Street, Broadway, Church Street, or Charlotte Avenue.
The ramp to I-40 West from 2nd and 4th Avenue will be closed.
The project – dubbed Fast Fix 8 – calls for an accelerated construction process to tear down and replace each bridge over one weekend for 13 weeks.
According to TDOT, the accelerated construction process reduces the amount of time these kids of projects take by allowing crews to time and space needed to quickly rip down the existing roadway, and reconstruct a new bridge.
They said the twin bridges over Herman Street are expected to be the most challenging part of the project. The Herman Street bridges are nearly 400 feet each -- four times the size of the other six bridges.
During the 13 weekend closures, all traffic along the south loop was expected to be closed, with detours available on the north and east sides of downtown.
The project was expected to cost $62 million.
