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The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced this week that emergency repairs are scheduled to begin Monday on the Broad Street Bridge, which suffered structure damage from Hurricane Helene. 

Since the bridge’s closure in late September much of the Broad Street traffic has been diverted through downtown Elizabethton and on other routes. It has caused an inconvenience for motorists traveling to and from Stoney Creek, Hampton, Roan Mountain, and other places.

The contract for the bridge repairs is TDOT’s second progressive design-built contract, and

will focus on emergency repairs to the Broad Street Bridge (SR 67/SR 91/US 321) over the Doe River near downtown Elizabethton. The tentative target date to re-open this bridge to traffic is May 23, 2025, pending completion of final design and construction schedule submission/approval.

Made possible by the Transportation Modernization Act, the PDB approach is a contracting method involving a Design-Build Team (Contractor and Designer) early in project development fostering collaboration, allowing for acceleration through overlapping and concurrent activities, and promoting improved project risk management and cost control.

Repairing the Broad Street bridge over the Doe River is critical to residents of Carter County, as it provides connectivity between the Johnson City, Elizabethton, and Hampton communities. The design is proactively being developed in close concert with the contractor who is providing feedback on decisions as they are made.

Project construction cost estimates are identified, developed, and refined as the design progresses. This approach reduces the risk of project overruns and schedule delays. In October 2024, TDOT awarded the State’s first inaugural Progressive Design-Build contract to focus on rebuilding the Nolichucky River bridges along SR-107 in Greene County and SR-81 in Washington County, with a target date to open both bridges to traffic on or before June 23, 2025.

Michels Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract to repair the Broad Street Bridge this past week, and the work contract was signed on December 11.

Long range plans are to jack the bridge, install micro-piles, and pour a new footer following temporary stabilization. The construction is estimated to be completed by May 2025.

According to TDOT officials, temporary stabilization will control water as necessary to allow examination of the footing support conditions.

TDOT officials will perform engineering examinations to develop configuration of grout bags that are necessary to restore contact between the footing bottom and the ground.

Construction workers will carefully insert ungrouted bags into the eroded volume to achieve the most effective load transfer.

Once that is done, workers will establish survey monuments on the bridge to monitor throughout the project.

Environmental permitting and design are actively underway. Survey activities were scheduled to begin on December 12.

Fluid grout will then be pumped in a controlled manner into the group bags under engineering observation and with care to prevent undesirable movement of the existing structure.

Project construction cost estimates are identified, developed, and refined as the design progresses. This approach reduces the risk of project overruns and schedule delays.

According to TDOT five state bridges in the region were completely destroyed, in addition to 14 that sustained significant damage. Six of those 14 were closed, including the Broad Street Bridge.