Work to repair a slope on the road up Signal Mountain caused traffic to be reduced to one lane on Saturday.
TDOT officials said, "Due to concerns with some additional movement of the slope adjacent to U.S. 127 at log mile 15.3 and the forecast for rain on Sunday, TDOT has contracted with Wright Brothers Construction Company to reinforce the slope below the roadway on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Work started this morning and will last throughout the day.
"Once completed, this repair will further stabilize the slope while we develop plans for a permanent fix.
The slope that will be reinforced is in the area between Balmoral Drive and Sunset Drive where TDOT forces milled and paved the cracked pavement on Friday, March 1. Originally we were going to do the work via Palisades Drive near the Space House, and U.S. 127 was going to remain open, but at roughly 11:30, we saw that the work was not progressing as we had hoped because the haul road that Wright Brothers was constructing was too soft and they could not get trucks up the haul road to the slope.
"In light of that, we decided to close one lane above the site, remove the guardrail and work from above on U. S. 127. U.S. 127 is currently reduced to one lane and flaggers are on site to assist with traffic control. They are making good progress since beginning the work from the top of the slope.
"Motorists are urged to be patient if they must travel through this area and watch for workers and equipment"