TDOT contract crews will begin work later this week to stabilize a section of U.S. 127 (Signal Mountain Boulevard) near the Signal Mountain welcome sign and Shoal Creek Road.
Beginning today (Tuesday) between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., TDOT maintenance crews will be setting up the work zone between log miles 15.9 and 16.2. During this nighttime work, there will be times that crews will have to temporarily stop all traffic as they set up concrete barrier rails.
Once the work zone is established, crews from GeoStabilization International, LLC (GSI) will start work to make permanent repairs to an area of the roadway that has shown some signs of instability.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, the repairs are expected to take approximately eight to 10 weeks to complete. During the repairs, the road will be reduced to one lane and traffic will be controlled with a temporary signal.
During the work, loose material will be removed from the area and the slope will be stabilized using soil nailing. Soil nailing is an on-site soil reinforcement technique where soil nails are placed into the natural ground at relatively close spacing to increase the strength of the soil mass. As the bars are being drilled, grout is inserted into the hole to ensure that the soil nail stays put. A steel reinforced concrete wall will be constructed that encompasses the soil nails to form a retaining structure along with means to drain water from the slope behind the wall. The upper portion of the retaining structure will be backfilled with new material and the roadway will be rebuilt.
The work will be done using crews from GSI under a statewide on-call maintenance contract for soil nailing and slope stabilization.
Message boards will be placed at each end of the work zone notifying the public of the one-lane condition. Those who regularly travel on U.S. 127 should anticipate the extra time it will take to get through the work zone.
From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511for statewide travel or Chattanooga area alerts @Chattanooga511 or any of TDOT’s other Twitter pages. As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination. Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.
Officials said, "In 2016, the Tennessee Department of Transportation lost three workers in the line of duty. All three were struck by passing motorists. Those tragedies bring the total number of TDOT lives lost to 112. We don’t want to lose another member of our TDOT family. We’re asking you to work with us. To learn more, go to the website at https://www.tn.gov/tdot/work-with-us/.