NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Work is pushing forward with the first full closure on the Broadway Bridge happening Monday night, months after the project manager walked NewsChannel 5 through the work site to replace the 75-year-old bridge.
"The bridge has lived a good long life," said project manager Clayton Marham. "It's time for it to be replaced, especially with all the development in Nashville."
It's the signature bridge over the railway in the Gulch that helps Broadway extend from the interstate to the honky tonks and the river.
And Monday night at 8 p.m., the bridge will fully close to traffic for a little over three days of work, re-opening early Friday morning.
The closures will allow a jump-start for contractors and a test run for TDOT before the eight-week-long closure planned after July 4th.
"We really need this closure in order to compensate for a pause in the long-term closure next month," said TDOT Spokesperson Rebekah Hammonds. "But it's also to start the demolition and actually building one side of the bridge."
That pause will be when SEC Media Days makes its way to Nashville for the first time in mid-July, bringing national media, teams and athletes to the Grand Hyatt hotel. Live broadcasts will be taking place at the hotel which sits right in the middle of the work zone.
"We're excited to have (SEC Media Days) in Nashville, and we wanted to make accommodations for that," Hammonds said. "So we’ll be pausing for the days during that event so the noise and congestion and traffic doesn’t necessarily disrupt anything."
Union Station Hotel and the Frist Art Museum also have entrances right at the bridge.
The closure will affect the section of Broadway, from 10th to 12th Avenue. The best options during the closure are the two closest bridges: Church St and Demonbreun St.
Drivers on I-40 Westbound will use Church St inbound.
Drivers heading inbound from Midtown and on I-40 East will use Demonbreun.
Pedestrians will also be sent to Demonbreun.
This week's closure is a precursor to the 8-week closure from July 5 - Sept 7.
"We do have systems or sensors I should say in place to monitor the traffic... so if we feel like there's something not working we can adjust and we can do something that’s even better for the long-term closure," Hammonds said.
The two closures will allow the 72-million-dollar project to have an accelerated timeline, finishing in October. Once complete, the new bridge will have three lanes in each direction with planters, wider sidewalks, and extra lighting and railing for safety.
Some have expressed frustration that the plan does not immediately call for transit-oriented lanes or separate bike lanes. Read more about that discussion between TDOT, NDOT and local advocates here.
