Part of the Silliman Evans Bridge will be CLOSED
this weekend for accelerated repairs

Nashville, Tennessee - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) issued an advisory today warning motorists that the westbound lanes of the Silliman Evans Bridge in Nashville will be closed the weekend of May 15th and 16th for repairs. The closure will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and will end at 5 a.m. Monday.

“Because this bridge is a vital link to downtown for so many commuters we are using an accelerated construction concept on this project,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “We will be closing the bridge for two weekends this spring. This will allow for around-the-clock work on those days and will thereby cut approximately two months of week-day traffic delays off of the life of this bridge repair project.”

Nicely said the second weekend when the eastbound lanes of the bridge are scheduled for a complete closure is June 5th and 6th. The majority of the repair work on the bridge is taking place during non-rush hour periods and on weekends.

“TDOT SmartWay Dynamic Message Signs on the highways will warn motorists about the activity on this project and we will distribute flyers throughout the community this week to let people know in advance when that weekend closure is coming up,” Nicely added.

The Silliman Evans Bridge is actually a set of parallel bridges that bring I-24 and I-40 through downtown Nashville. The bridges, usually thought of and referred to as one bridge, were built in 1963.

The bridge repairs include:

• Upgrading the bridge rails to meet the latest safety standards.
• Removing the existing riding surfaces (asphalt).
• Repairing bridge deck concrete.
• Resurfacing the newly repaired decks with asphalt overlay.
• Replacing expansion joints.

About 138,000 vehicles use the Silliman Evans Bridge each day. The bridge was constructed with steel girders with a concrete deck and asphalt riding surface.
The repair contract includes special limitations and incentives. According to TDOT the contractor, Mid-State Construction, Inc., will not work during major holiday periods or during the Country Music Festival.

“We have a large incentive/disincentive built into this contract to get it finished early,” Nicely added. “The contractor will receive $9,000 for every day he finishes early, with a cap of $280,000. If he doesn’t make the deadline he’ll lose $9,000 a day, but we don’t expect that to happen.”

To view a map of the detour area, click here.