• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

TDOT: Replacing ‘green bridge’ on US 25W in Clinton could cost $18.8 million

Posted at 11:27 pm September 11, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on US 25W in Clinton is pictured above. Also known as “the green bridge,” it could cost $18.8 million to replace, state officials said Thursday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Replacing the Lewallen Bridge—known as “the green bridge” to locals—on US 25W in Clinton could cost $18.8 million, state officials said Thursday.

The bridge, officially known as the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge, crosses over the Clinch River, and it connects downtown Clinton to South Clinton.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said preliminary plans are under development to replace the major bridge, which connects the main route from Clinton to Knoxville. South of Clinton, the road is known as Clinton Highway.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer gave an update on that and other projects when they sat down with local and state officials in Knoxville on Thursday to discuss the region’s transportation and infrastructure needs, a press release said.

Advertisement

WYSH Radio in Clinton reported in January 2014 that the new bridge will be realigned to the park side of the bridge, which is upstream from the current bridge, so that the state can avoid “the costly acquisition of several homes” downstream of the bridge in the other side. It’s not clear if that is still the plan.

Officials said then that the new structure will feature four 12-foot-wide travel lanes and another 12-foot-wide center lane as well as two five-foot-long sidewalks and will be about 20 feet wider than the current bridge. If all goes as planned, officials said then, construction could start sometime in 2016.

In a Thursday morning meeting at the Knoxville Chamber this week, Haslam and Schroer discussed the functionality and capacity of Tennessee’s state roads and highways, safety issues around roads and bridges, and the impact infrastructure has on economic development efforts in urban and rural communities, the press release said.

Tennessee’s transportation system includes 95,000 miles of roads, 1,100 miles of interstates, 19,000 bridges, 28 transit systems in 95 counties, 79 general aviation airports, 949 miles of waterways, and more than 3,000 miles of railroads

“The quality of Tennessee’s transportation and infrastructure system always ranks at or near the top when compared to the rest of the country,” Haslam said. “We have no transportation debt, and we do a great job maintaining our roads, but we know we have challenges on the horizon. We know that we can’t depend on the federal government to be the funding partner that it once was. We also know that as our infrastructure ages, maintenance becomes more important and more expensive. And we know that maintaining our roads is only part of the equation. Right now we have a multi-billion dollar backlog of highway projects across this state that address key access, safety and economic development issues, and that’s only going to grow.”

A 2015 Tennessee Comptroller’s report on transportation funding states that revenues are not expected to be sufficient to maintain current infrastructure.

Advertisement

Cars are more fuel-efficient, construction and labor costs have risen, and Congress hasn’t passed a long-term transportation funding bill in a decade, the press release said. Tennessee’s population is expected to grow by two million by 2040, which puts a greater demand on the state’s infrastructure.

“TDOT is responsible for taking care of the assets we already have, for implementing current projects in the most cost-effective way, and for planning for the state’s infrastructure needs of the future,” Schroer said. “We look to Tennessee communities to help prioritize projects to make sure we’re addressing evolving traffic patterns, population growth, safety issues, and the many other things that impact our infrastructure, and these conversations are invaluable to the process.”

Since 2010, TDOT has invested $101 million state dollars on first and last mile road projects serving industrial expansion and recruitment helping to create nearly 29,000 jobs for 108 companies in Tennessee, the press release said.

Funded primarily by state and federal gas taxes, TDOT gets no money from the General Fund. Funding uncertainty from the Federal Highway Trust Fund forced TDOT to delay $400 million in highway projects in 2015, the release said.

TDOT officials discussed the cost of several projects in the region:

  • In Grainger County, the widening of SR-1 from Rutledge to Bean Station is in the preliminary engineering phase of development. This 10.8-mile corridor consists of two separate projects, which will improve safety along the route. The estimated cost of completion is $55.5 million.
  • SR-35 (US 411) has two ongoing reconstruction projects in Jefferson and Sevier counties totaling 6.4 miles in length. Both projects are currently in the right-of-way phase of development and will adjoin the portion of SR-35 currently under construction in Jefferson/Cocke counties. The estimated cost of completion is $62.7 million.
  • The widening of SR-71 (US 441) in Seymour is currently in the right-of-way phase of development. This 1.2-mile project is being implemented to address safety issues, and the estimated cost of completion is $8.2 million.
  • In Union County, the widening of SR-33 (Maynardville Highway) is currently in the right-of-way phase of development. This 5.2-mile project will adjoin the portion of SR-33 in Knox County currently under construction. The estimated cost of completion is $38.2 million.
  • The widening of SR-115 (Alcoa Highway) in Knox and Blount counties has seven projects under development at this time. Improvements along this 12.5-mile corridor are being implemented to address congestion and safety-related issues from Knoxville to McGhee-Tyson Airport. The estimated cost of completion is $287 million.
  • In Blount County, the extension of SR-162 (Pellissippi Parkway) is undergoing environmental studies. In addition to alleviating congestion from local routes, this 4.4-mile project will provide a more direct connection between Knox and Blount counties and improve accessibility to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The estimated cost of completion is $150.6 million.
  • In Anderson County, preliminary plans are under development to replace the SR-9 (US 25W) bridge over the Clinch River in Clinton. This major bridge connects the main route from Clinton to Knoxville. The estimated cost of completion is $18.8 million.

Knoxville and Lenoir City marked the final stops on Haslam’s 15-city tour to discuss Tennessee’s transportation and infrastructure needs, the press release said. During the past few weeks, he has visited Memphis, Clarksville, Jackson, Nashville, Franklin, Kingsport, Greeneville, Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Crossville, Union City, Chattanooga, and Cleveland.

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Clinton, Government, Government, Slider, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bill Haslam, bridge, Clinch River, Clinton, Clinton Highway, green bridge, Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge, infrastructure, John Schroer, Lewallen Bridge, South Clinton, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, transportation, US 25W

Advertisements


 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Government News

Luminarias to feature peace messages

Luminarias with peace messages will be lit this year to remember and acknowledge the atomic bombings of Japan in August 1945, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park said. A luminaria is a lantern with a candle … [Read More...]

Repairs set for S. Illinois Ave. this week

The City of Oak Ridge Public Works Department will be making asphalt repairs to South Illinois Avenue this week, weather permitting, a press release said. The work will be in the northbound lanes across from Badger … [Read More...]

City of Oak Ridge Seal

Horizon Center power, airport update, mercury storage on Council agenda

An airport update, potential comments about mercury storage, and an overview of a proposed 69-kilovolt electrical line for the TRISO-X project at Horizon Center are on the agenda for an Oak Ridge City Council work … [Read More...]

Planning Commission to consider rezoning for nuclear fuel fabrication

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider rezoning 110 acres at Horizon Center for a nuclear fuel fabrication company. The property (Lot 6a) has been purchased from the Oak Ridge Industrial … [Read More...]

Repairs planned for gravel section of Tuskegee Road

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department will conduct road repairs to the gravel section of Tuskegee Road from Tuesday, July 19 to Friday, July 22, weather permitting, a press release said. The work will require sections … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • ORAU launches new app with a variety of resources available, including hundreds of STEM internships, fellowships and research opportunities
  • Disposing of uranium waste could cost at least $7.2 billion
  • Y-12 now getting power from Pine Ridge substation
  • Man sentenced to 8 years after fleeing, crashing, attempting carjackings
  • Three Ohio residents die in two-vehicle crash
  • DOE picks Idaho for nuclear test reactor
  • TBI investigating man’s death
  • Luminarias to feature peace messages
  • Oak Ridge tennis court dance is Thursday
  • DOE bus tours restart in Oak Ridge

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today