ADVISORY: New Section of Fourth Avenue Opens in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation will open a 1000-foot section of Fourth Avenue from South Luttrell Avenue to Gill Avenue to traffic on Friday afternoon, November 14, 2008.  The new section of Fourth Avenue is located at the site where I-40 westbound lanes used to travel.  Crews relocated the roadway and constructed the new segment of Fourth Avenue adjacent to the Fourth and Gill Community Park.  The new stretch of roadway includes new sidewalks, curb and gutters, parking, landscaping and a new tie-in with the existing Third Avenue.

Broken into two separate construction contracts, SmartFIX40 has a price tag of approximately $190 million.  SmartFIX40 is an accelerated construction process used by the department to speed up highway construction.  The process involves closing the primary roadway to allow around-the-clock work that is uninterrupted by traffic in order to dramatically shorten the time it takes to complete the project, thereby reducing the long-term inconvenience to motorists.  The SmartFIX40 project will save more than two years of construction time.