TVA’s Wheeler Dam bridge refurbishment project to impact traffic

Wheeler Dam will be reduced to one 8-foot-wide lane while TVA refurbishes the bridge deck and replaces bridge joints.(TVA Photo)
ROGERSVILLE — A project to refurbish the Wheeler Dam bridge deck will impact traffic in the area, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced.
(TVA Photo)

The work is expected to start Oct. 19 and will include an epoxy overlay and new joints. Bridge joints are a component of the bridge designed to allow expansion and contraction, which helps prevent damage from temperature changes.

During the project, which is expected to last up to five months depending on the weather conditions, the Wheeler Dam bridge lanes will be reduced to a single lane with a width of only eight feet that is only open to passenger vehicles.
There will be traffic signals or flaggers directing passenger vehicle traffic. However, there will be road barriers in place and signs directing trucks away from Alabama Highway 101 and the construction zones on both sides of Wheeler Dam.
According to the TVA and the Alabama Department of Transportation, the truck detour is Alabama Highway 20/Alternate U.S. 72 on the Lawrence County side and U.S. 72 on the Lauderdale County side of the Tennessee River, with an opportunity to cross the river at the Singing River Bridge in Florence.

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