Utility Work Will Close A Section of Central Avenue

Knoxville, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced today that Central Avenue from Depot Avenue to Fifth Avenue will completely close for construction at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 9, 2007 until Friday, August 31, 2007. This is necessary so that contractors can add a sewer line, storm drains and other utilities.

“The sewer line must be installed15 feet below the surface, in the center of the road. To ensure safe working conditions at that depth, it is necessary to lay the slopes back, which expands the width of the cut and takes up more of the road,” explained John Hunter, TDOT’s SmartFIX40 project manager. “For that reason, it is not possible for us to complete the work using single lane closures. It requires a complete closure of the road.”

Due to the upcoming football season and Boom’s Day the contractor will be working extended hours to have the road reopened by August 31, 2007. Motorists and pedestrians should use extreme caution in this area and be aware of construction crews and large equipment. According to traffic count data, approximately 8,397 vehicles travel this stretch of Central Avenue daily. During the closure motorists can use Gay Street or Broadway to access Depot Avenue and the Old City. This is all part of the final phase of the SmartFIX40 project, scheduled to be complete June 30, 2009.

SmartFIX40 is TDOT’s single most expensive construction project in its 90-year history. Broken into two separate construction contracts, SmartFIX40 has a price tag of approximately $190 million. SmartFIX is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up construction. It involves closing the primary roadway 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 inconvenience to drivers. Using the SmartFIX concept will save over two years of construction time.