Page 10 - May-June 2021 Vol 39 No 1
P. 10
KNOX COUNTY
Emergency Bridge Replacement
Earlier this year, Gresham Smith daily traffic count of 1,300 vehicles. The the county to close the bridge to traffic.
orchestrated an impressive and speedy existing structure consisted of a single Gresham Smith was contacted the
fix to the 60+ year-old Yarnell Road 25-foot-long span with adjacent precast
Bridge over Hickory Creek...much to concrete channel beams, supported by next day to assist Knox County with
the relief of thousands of Knox County cast-in-place concrete closed abutments. this emergency bridge replacement
residents. project, and its representatives met
The degradation of the bridge’s with the County three days later in
West Knoxville’s booming population existing structure has been caused the field to scope the work. At the
stretches the limits of existing by a multitude of factors. Since the meeting’s conclusion, the project team
infrastructure in many corners of the 1960s, extensive residential growth had a verbal notice to proceed with
county. Older roads and bridges now are has exploded around Yarnell Road, instructions to fast-track the design
carrying higher volumes of traffic than with many homeowners and motorists schedule, in order to have the project let
previously planned for…or imagined… now using the road as a route to I-40. to construction, completed, and back
back when those areas once were Additionally, Dixie Lee Quarry is just open to traffic by the end of the year.
considered “country.” northwest of the bridge, and for decades
has attracted daily dump trucks carrying The situation required that final plans
Yarnell Road, an east-west collector heavy loads. be delivered to the County by August 30,
route serving the Hardin Valley/West Significant Structural Deficiencies Noted 2020. The Gresham Smith design team
Knoxville area, is such an example, said began the environmental and permitting
Jason Brady, P.E., East Tennessee Area On July 1, 2020, the Knox County process, structure type studies, and
Transportation Leader at Gresham Department of Engineering and preliminary plans development, with a
Smith. Public Works was notified by the heavy focus on ABC techniques to meet
TDOT Structures Division that recent the aggressive reopening schedule.
“The Yarnell Road Bridge is an inspection of the Yarnell Road Bridge The Need for Speed
integral piece of infrastructure for noted significant deficiencies in the
West Knoxville motorists,” Brady said, main load-carrying members of the Speed was of the essence, Brady said.
noting that speed was of the essence in structure, and that they were requiring “When made aware of TDOT’s concerns
repairing a bridge originally erected in about the condition of the 60-year-
1966, but that now carries an average
10 TPW May/June 2021
