News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
T-DOT expects to have the Highway 56 Overpass at the Smithville exit open on Tuesday.
T-DOT spokesperson Jennifer Flynn said that crews are installing traffic control barriers on the overpass today, allowing for two narrowed lanes on the overpass. Flynn said that only one outer beam was damaged and all temporary repairs should finish this week.
“As an additional safety measure, our bridge crew is going to install some temporary support before the end of the week,” Flynn said. “To help stabilize the damaged area. Our bridge manager said it’s very stable as is, but it’s better to be on the safe side. They’ll just shore it up a little bit.”
Flynn said damage caused by a tractor trailer striking the overpass was not as significant as inspectors thought at first. She said the expectation is to have the permanent repairs begin in August.
“When they do have to replace the damaged beam, then more than likely traffic on the bridge will have to be one lane with a signal control,” Flynn said. “That’s during the project later on this summer. The good thing is that I-40 itself, should not be affected other than possibly having a shoulder closure.”
Flynn said that bridge inspectors were immediately dispatched to begin preliminary reports.
She said they originally thought two beams on the bridge were damaged. Flynn said tractor trailers damaging bridges is common, but often this stems from the truck load being too tall to pass underneath.
