AASHTO Journal, 28 March 2014
Tennessee Department of Transportation officials last week were on hand to celebrate the opening of a bridge that will more easily connect two communities after years of planning.
TDOT last weekend opened the new $29.5 million SR 109 bridge, allowing one lane in each direction to carry vehicles across the span, which connects the state’s Sumner and Wilson Counties over the Cumberland River. The bridge, according to TDOT, serves as a “Gateway Bridge” for local residents. The project began in early 2011, after TDOT officials listed the 1950s narrow structure as structurally deficient, showing signs of aging. Currently, about 16,500 vehicles cross the bridge each day. TDOT expects that number to grow substantially by 2035, when it will serve about 30,000 vehicles per day.
The new four-lane bridge features a wider path for vehicles, increasing safety for both commercial and residential traffic, while containing some aesthetically pleasing features such as decorative columns and a 16-foot high monument featuring the county seals. Other aspects of the project include widening of about one mile of SR 109 and the replacement of a concrete box culvert along the route. TDOT also included wide shoulders and sidewalks so the bridge could easily be utilized by all traffic, not just vehicles.
“This is a very exciting project for TDOT, one that has been years in the making,” said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer in a statement. “TDOT is pleased to be able to offer more travel lanes, as well as sidewalks and a beautiful structure to this community. This bridge will serve the growing needs of Wilson and Sumner Counties for decades to come.”
TDOT will continue to work on the bridge for the next few months, though those two lanes will remain open. The old SR109 bridge will be demolished, though TDOT said it “will take several months and not begin until all travel lanes on the new bridge are complete.”
