Emergency repairs to close part of I-40 detour route

Motorists following the Interstate 40 rock slide detour be wary - there's another obstacle in your route.

Emergency repairs to a set of overpasses on I-81 in Greene County, TN will force 12 hour weekend closures on part of the detour route. The emergency road work is on Interstate 81 at Exit 23 (US 11E).

The repairs are being made on cracked support beams that carry US 11E over I-81. . The repairs will occur over the next two weekends - resulting in 12 hour road closures - on the freeway.

The first closure will affect the northbound lanes of I-81 (the detour route for eastbound I-40 travelers) this weekend. I-81 North at Exit 23 will be closed from 10 pm Saturday, November 14th through 10 am Sunday, November 15th.

Fortunately, there is not much of a detour involved for this work. Traffic will be detoured along the Exit 23 off and on ramps. The problem will be funneling traffic into one lane and then onto the ramps. So expect some delays - even though the construction will happen during lightly traveled hours.

The following weekend, the southbound lanes of I-81 will be closed from 10 pm Saturday, November 21st through 10 am Sunday, November 22nd.

The cracks were found during an ongoing rehabilitation of the bridge which is scheduled to end in June 2010.

For more: TDOT announces upcoming detour on I-81 ---Knoxville News Sentinel

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