Broadway Entrance Ramp to I-40 West Closed this Weekend

Knoxville, Tenn.-The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced Thursday that as part of the continuing SmartFIX40 downtown Knoxville improvement project, the Broadway entrance to I-40 west will close this weekend for the installation of a new gas line. The ramp will close at 6 a.m. Saturday, August 27 and reopen at 7 p.m. Sunday, August 28.

"To install the new line, it is necessary that we cut and dig up sections of the ramp,” said Kevin King of King Pipeline and Utility Company. “We’re trying to reduce the inconvenience to drivers as much as possible and hope to complete the work early, it just depends on the amount of rock we hit while digging.”

TDOT estimates that 20,000 vehicles use the entrance ramp each day. TDOT as well as their contractors and sub-contractors, schedule work during low volume travel hours to reduce traffic delays and minimize inconveniences to motorists.

Portable barriers will block the ramp and a police officer will be on site to help motorists if necessary. Message boards have also been placed along Broadway alerting drivers of the closure.

A detour will direct travelers using southbound Broadway to Western Avenue where they can access I-40 West.

SmartFIX40 is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up construction. It involves closing the primary roadway at a designated project to allow around-the-clock work that is uninterrupted by traffic in order to dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete the project, thereby reducing the long-term inconveniences to drivers.

In the SmartFIX40 project, James White Parkway will be closed for nine months in 2007, and I-40 through traffic will be rerouted onto I-640 for 14 months starting in the spring of 2008. Local traffic will have access to downtown at all times. Over two years of traffic delays, lane closures and motorist frustrations will be avoided by allowing construction crews the opportunity to work without restriction from moving traffic while traffic is rerouted from I-40. I-40 through downtown Knoxville carries an average of 103,000 vehicles a day.

Additional information and before-and-after computer renderings of SmartFIX40 can be obtained by going to www.smartfix40.com. A hotline has also been set up at 329-GO-40 or 329-4640. Traffic information and camera images are available from TDOT's SmartWay system which can be found at www.tennessee.gov/tdot