Construction on Gap Creek Road is more than three-quarters complete – but that still leaves more than a year leftbefore completion.
Tennessee Department of Transportation Community Relations Officer Mark Nagi said the project is scheduled to be complete by May 31, 2015. The end date was moved back to May 2015 from October 2014 late last year, after contractors discovered the foundation of the road was not as stable as it should be and required extra support.
Nagi said the project is 78.5 percent completed. Crews were working on three portions of the 5.9-mile project simultaneously to have the work completed as quickly as possible
The upper portion is from Tester Road to the Dry Creek intersection; the mid-section spans from about Big Springs Road to Dry Creek; and the final section of the project is from Big Springs Road to the G Street tie-in.
The first phase of the project from the starting at Tester Road has been completed and is open to traffic.
“We have increased warning devices in this area to better alert motorists of the new traffic pattern,” Nagi said.
In other areas of the project, Big Springs Road is currently open to traffic and the box culvert at West G Street has been completed.
Grading and excavation work now taking place is nearing completion. Next up on the agenda for the construction is the addition of a traffic signal at the intersection of West G Street and the new entrance of Gap Creek Road.
Work on the project is being done by Charles Blalock & Sons Construction from Sevierville. The current contract amount on the project is $40,963,644.59, higher than the bid amount of $36,989,522.25.