Vehicles were slowing to get into one lane for the evening's start of work on a paving project near the Ooltewah exit of I-75 when a semi came barreling through on Thursday, killing six people and injuring six others.
Jennifer Flynn of TDOT said, "We have a $3.6 million resurfacing project underway out there. It has been going on for over a month now. It is a nighttime project. Our contractor was working on the northbound side of the interstate and had just set up the lane closure taper when the crash occurred.
"From what I understand, traffic was moving very slowly in the area as they were being funneled into where our lane closure began. All lanes of traffic were not blocked, but they were being gradually reduced down to one lane to allow the contractor to pave in the other lane.
"We had warning messages on all of our overhead message boards from the 24/75 split to where the crash occurred, plus the contractor had two queue trucks on scene to warn traffic, and a state trooper was sitting in the taper with his blue lights on. Additionally, we had all appropriate warning signage out as per the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which we follow on all of our lane closures.
"As soon as the crash occurred, the contractor immediately suspended operations for the night."
Here is the description of the project.
BRADLEY and HAMILTON COUNTIES, I-75 resurfacing with Open Graded Friction Course from north of the weigh station exit in Hamilton County (LM 12.78/MM 12.78) to north of Bancroft Road in Bradley County (LM 2.98/MM 18.58): Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor will be performing milling and paving operations in both directions at nighttime between the hours of 7PM -6AM. THP will assist with traffic control as necessary during interstate lane closures. Estimated project completion is July 2015. [Talley Construction Co., Inc./JM/CNN306]