I-40 Bridge Implosion Closes Interstate
Memphis, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will be closing a small section of Interstate 40 in Haywood County to implode the State Route 76 Bridge. I-40 will be shutdown in both directions beginning at mile marker 55 through mile marker 57 at 10 p.m. Friday, February 3, 2006. During that closure, the bridge over westbound I-40 will be demolished. Crews will work over night clearing debris in order to reopen the I-40 westbound lanes. Around 10:00 a.m. Saturday, February 4, 2006, I-40 will be closed for the implosion of the SR 76 Bridge over the eastbound lanes. Those lanes will be reopened as soon as is possible, but the clean up is anticipated to take several hours.
“We’re imploding this bridge on a weekend out of consideration for the thousands of motorist traveling on I-40 everyday”, said Chuck Rychen, Director, TDOT Region Four. “Safety is our number concern. Our HELP Operators as well as troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol will be on the location to ensure this demolition and clean-up runs as smoothly as possible.”
Engineered Explosives Services will use three-hundred-fifty pounds of dynamite to bring down the 45 year old 2-lane bridge. A new 4 lane steel structure bridge will be constructed in its place. That project will begin immediately and is expected to be complete in November of 2006.
The schedule for the bridge demotion is as follows, weather permitting.
Friday, February 4, 2006
| 8:00 p.m. | Westbound traffic on I-40 will be reduced to one lane. |
| 8:30 p.m. | Shift westbound traffic to on /off Exit 56 ramps. Close SR 76 over the interstate. Crews will start putting dirt on westbound I-40 lanes under bridge. |
| 10:00 p.m. | Stop I-40 traffic in both directions. Westbound bridge implosion. Contractor will check eastbound lanes for any debris. |
| 10:15 p.m. | Resume traffic flow on eastbound I-40. Westbound I-40 traffic will use Exit 56 ramps while debris is being removed. |
Saturday, February 4, 2006
| 7:00 a.m. | Re-open westbound I-40 lanes. |
| 10:00 a.m. | Close one I-40 eastbound lane, shift traffic to exit 56 eastbound ramps. Start putting dirt on eastbound lanes under remaining portion of the existing bridge. |
| 10:30 a.m. | Stop I-40 traffic in both directions. Eastbound bridge over I-40 Implosion. Contractor will check westbound I-40 lanes for any debris. |
| 10:15 a.m. | Resume traffic flow on westbound I-40. Eastbound I-40 traffic will use on/off Exit 56 ramps while debris is being removed. |
| 7:00 p.m. | Reopen eastbound lanes on I-40. Reopen traffic on new SR 76 bridge over I-40. |
The SR 76 Bridge over I-40 is part of a 4 lane $ 12.5 million dollar improvement project for the Haywood County Road. Ford Construction Company is the contractor.