Officials from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and other state, federal, and local officials in Tennessee broke ground on a $93 million road improvement project on Friday.
The 3.4-mile project will add grading, drainage, signals, paving, and new bridges and retaining walls along a stretch of road on SR-317 in Collegedale near the Collegedale Municipal Airport. Wright Brothers Construction Co., Inc. of Charleston, Tenn., will be the contractor for the project that is expected to be complete by June 30, 2025.
“We are excited to begin this important project in conjunction with our federal, state and local partners and the citizens of Collegedale,” TDOT Commissioner Clay Bright. “Once complete, this project will improve accessibility for local and regional traffic and enhance safety in the area. Having a large bridge over the railroad tracks will eliminate the necessity for traffic to use the at-grade crossing, thereby making travel times much more predictable.”
The project is funded by IMPROVE Act funds, a Tennessee tax cut program enacted in 2011 that promised to cut taxes for Tennesseans while funding more than 960 road and bridge projects. The completed improvement would have five lanes, with curbs, gutter, sidewalks, and bike lanes. Another project on SR-317 would widen a separate section of the road to complete improvements on the road, Apison Pike from I-75 to East Brainerd Road.
More information is available on the TDOT website.