The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton is pictured above in December 2013. (File photo/Oak Ridge Today)
Information from WYSH Radio
Wednesday afternoon, a pre-construction meeting for the project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge over the Clinch River in Clinton was held at the Knoxville regional office of the  Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Contractor Blalock and Sons Construction announced during the meeting that traffic warning signs marking the project will be installed next week, with the project officially getting started on Monday, September 17.
Recently-retired Clinton Public Works Director Lynn Murphy is acting as a consultant for the city and will serve as the liasion between Blalock, the state and the city. On Wednesday, Murphy said that he has requested a seven-day notice for the eventual closing of Riverside Drive between Meadowbrook Street and South Seivers Boulevard, which will also include the boat launch under the current span connecting Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. A natural gas line and a sanitary sewer pipe running underneath Riverside will have to be excavated and relocated as part of the project.
Blalock submitted the low bid on the project in the amount of $27,735,269.72, and is expected to have the bridge replaced by the end of August in 2021.
While the new bridge is being constructed the current bridge will remain open, according to officials. As WYSH Radio learns more about this project, the radio station will pass it along to readers and listeners.
On a related note, the Norris Bulletin reported that TDOT recently advised city officials in Norris that plans are underway to add an additional lane to exit 122 off of I-75 North, thus improving the flow of traffic exiting from the interstate. The Bulletin reports that no specific timetable has been announced for the beginning of construction.
WYSH Radio in Clinton is an Oak Ridge Today news partner.
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