TDOT advances I-40 construction in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — Over the weekend, the outside parts of the bridge over North Highland were demolished to begin the final phase of construction on this part of I-40.

“Now that that bridge demo is complete, crews will now be working to build that new structure,” said Nichole Lawrence, community relations officer for Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Now crews are cleaning up the rubble and preparing for another closure later this year, where they will lay steel beams to start rebuilding the bridge.

Don’t forget all of this is happening during the global pandemic.

“The crews are doing that social distancing out in the field,” Lawrence said. “As much as they can. And, following those CDC rules.”

Lawrence says traffic has trended down over the past few weeks, but that brings with it another problem.

“Traffic is less, but traffic also speeds. When there’s not anybody around you, you want to go faster. Just because you think you can,” Lawrence said.

This week is also Workzone Safety Awareness Week. Wednesday, you can wear orange to show your appreciation for all of the men and women working in zones, just like this one, all across the state.

You can post your pictures of you wearing orange to Facebook or Twitter to show your appreciation.

“We’re still out there trying to fix the roads and trying to maintain a transportation system throughout the state. Please slow down, maintain that speed limit. That’s there for you as well as us,” Lawrence said.

And Lawrence says they are still on track to finish the entire project in June of 2021.