A project to improve the city’s sewer system will require a temporary closure on busy Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge starting Sunday.
Rutgers Avenue connects South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, and it runs between the Woodland neighborhood and J.C. Penney and Walmart.
A city press release said a gravity sewer line running from east to west under the north end of Rutgers Avenue must be relocated as part of the rehabilitation work.
To accomplish this, the city contractor, Portland Construction Inc., will close Rutgers Avenue just north of the intersection of Rutgers Avenue and Manhattan Avenue at night, beginning on Sunday, January 11, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. The project is expected to require the road to be closed for five consecutive nights, but bad weather could delay the project.
“Rutgers Avenue will be reopened to through traffic during the day, although it is recommend that motorists avoid the area if at all possible due to rough road conditions caused by the use of a temporary steel road plate that is necessary to cover the excavation,” a press release said. “During periods of road closure, traffic will be detoured along Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike onto Tulane Avenue.”
At the completion of the project, a temporary driving surface will be installed to allow use of the roadway, the press release said. A permanent surface will be placed on the roadway after any settling occurs. This should happen at some point late spring as weather allows.
For more information about the City of Oak Ridge and the Public Works Department, visit the city’s website at www.OakRidgeTN.gov.
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