The I-440 loop south of downtown Nashville has become notorious for its concrete craters, and TDOT is preparing to launch a $1.9 million patching blitz the week of April 16.
John Hill from Dickson drives the corridor regularly traveling to college campuses as an adjunct professor. In February, a fist-sized chunk of the road kicked up from another car shattered his windshield.
“It pushed the glass in a little bit in a very small area and filled the car with little particles of glass,” he says. I wear glasses, and fortunately none of it got in my eyes. But it was in my mouth and beard.”
pic.twitter.com/odZKRzPAzo— Keyframes & Breakdowns™ (@Awesometania)
April 2, 2018
Hill says he was lucky he didn’t swerve in the heavy traffic. He also felt TDOT was partially responsible, but realized
it’s difficult to get the agency to pay for repairs.
Highway officials say the winter’s freeze-thaw cycles and heavy rains have taken a heavy toll to the already crumbling road surface. Some patches will be 500 feet or longer.
TDOT has hired Vulcan Materials to do the work, which will be done mostly at night to avoid traffic delays on a heavily traveled corridor. The state highway, which averages 100,000 vehicles a day, is on track for total replacement as part of the IMPROVE Act, which increased the state’s gas tax for the first time in 30 years. However, the road will have to make it through at least another winter.
The
timeline calls for finalizing a contract for the rebuilding this summer. As part of the deal, the contractor will have to maintain the improved road surface during the three-year project.
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