NASHVILLE, Tenn. - If you plan to head downtown this weekend, you also might want to plan another travel route to get there. Crews with the Tennessee Department of Transportation are starting bridge work on Interstate 40, which is going to bring traffic to a halt.
Four twin bridges along I-40 are getting some major repairs, and the work to get the job done may cause some major headaches. Starting Friday night until Monday, a two mile stretch of I-40 from the 65-split west of downtown to the split on the south side will be completely shut down.
TDOT spokesperson Heather Jensen said it'll be a very busy time.
"We're looking at a weekend closure, which means Friday night at eight they'll start putting barriers in place and start blocking off traffic," said Jensen.
TDOT plans to shut down a two mile stretch of I-40 from the 65 split west of downtown to the split on the south side, replacing bridges over Herman Street, Clinton Street, Jo Johnston Avenue and Charlotte Avenue.
Jensen said they named the project Fast Fix 8.
"We're doing 13 weekend closures where we'll tear down the bridge, build them back up and have them open to traffic on Monday morning," she said. "That means for 58 hours we're working around the clock non-stop to make this work happen."
Jo Johnston Avenue just recently closed in preparation for this weekend, and it will remain closed through mid-August. The I-40 Bridge above it will be the first to be constructed -- that means the interstate will close to traffic for the next two weekends, Friday night through Monday morning.
"We work one side at a time," said Jensen. "These are twin bridges, so they'll be an east bound and a west bound bridge, so one weekend for each direction."
However, Jensen said the entire stretch of interstate will have to be shut down.
"We have to close the entire interstate because we're dealing with very large equipment on both sides of the interstate," she said.
Expect to see lots of detour signs and warnings, and be prepared for plenty of stop and go traffic.
"We do expect some backups and we hope that motorists will expect that as well, so plan accordingly," said Jensen.
For detour maps and to sign up for TDOT email updates, visit TDOT’s website.
