Transportation departments in Georgia and Tennessee are making plans to widen Interstate 24 to three lanes in each direction from its junction with I-59 in Dade County, Ga., to U.S. 27 in Chattanooga.
There are often bottlenecks on the narrow section of I-24 going around Moccasin Bend.
It will be another challenging engineering project to add the lanes at Moccasin Bend at the foot of Lookout Mountain.
The mountain at that point has steep cliffs above the Tennessee River.
When the freeway initially was built around the Bend, a large amount of fill dirt was taken off the "toe" of the Bend to construct the freeway lanes. That project also incorporated use of a small island known as Ross's Towhead.
TDOT officials said, "There is a project in development to widen I-24 in both directions from I-59 in Georgia to US-27/I-124 in Tennessee. This section is currently two lanes in each direction. Proposed improvements would widen the interstate to three lanes in each direction.
"The project is divided into three segments:
- From I-59 to GA state line (approximately 2.5 miles)
- From GA state line to East of Browns Ferry Road (approximately 4.75 miles)
- From East of Browns Ferry road to US-27 (I-124) (approximately 2.6 miles)
"GDOT will be responsible for funding and constructing the first segment and will do so on their own timeframe. TDOT does not have the authority to spend our dollars in another state.
"The NEPA document we submit to FHWA requires that we study any corridor form logical termini to logical termini. State or county lines are not considered logical termini; it has to be an intersecting roadway which is why the study was extended the study to I-59 in Georgia.
"TDOT will be responsible for the two segments in Tennessee. Both segments will be constructed using alternative delivery methods – this means crews will use new, innovative practices to decrease project delivery time, reduce construction time, improve safety, and reduce costs."