I-65 Goes Dark Under Hamilton Avenue Next Weekend
Heads up, Wedgwood Houston.
TDOT will shut the interstate in both directions from Friday night, October 16, to Monday morning, October 19, to tear out the failing bridge deck at our neighborhood’s edge. Here is what changes, when, and how to get across.
The Hamilton Avenue bridge has been closed to cars for almost a month. Now it is coming down. The Tennessee Department of Transportation says the bridge deck over I-65 must be demolished and replaced as soon as possible, and because crews cannot drop concrete onto moving traffic, the interstate beneath it will close entirely for one weekend this month.
The trouble started September 9, when a TDOT HELP operator spotted damage on the deck. According to TDOT, inspectors found a deteriorated area roughly 17 feet by 24 feet and closed the bridge to vehicles that day for the safety of drivers on Hamilton and on I-65 below. The bridge dates to 1970; TDOT says its last inspection, in January, found no critical issues.
THE SCHEDULE, IN THREE PHASES
1. THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 8 P.M. – FRIDAY, OCT. 9, 5 A.M.
Intermittent lane closures on southbound I-65 between the I-40 ramp at Exit 210 and the I-440 off-ramp near Exit 80. All southbound lanes close for about 30 minutes around midnight while crews remove overhead signs.
2. FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 8 P.M. – MONDAY, OCT. 19, 5 A.M.
I-65 fully closed through the same stretch while crews demolish the bridge deck. Fox 17 and WSMV report the closure covers both directions.
3. AFTER DEMOLITION, THROUGH EARLY DECEMBER
Nightly intermittent lane closures from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. while the new deck is built, according to Fox 17. TDOT has said it aims to finish before the holidays
THE SCHEDULE, IN THREE PHASES
1. THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 8 P.M. – FRIDAY, OCT. 9, 5 A.M.
Intermittent lane closures on southbound I-65 between the I-40 ramp at Exit 210 and the I-440 off-ramp near Exit 80. All southbound lanes close for about 30 minutes around midnight while crews remove overhead signs.
2. FRIDAY, OCT. 16, 8 P.M. – MONDAY, OCT. 19, 5 A.M.
I-65 fully closed through the same stretch while crews demolish the bridge deck. Fox 17 and WSMV report the closure covers both directions.
3. AFTER DEMOLITION, THROUGH EARLY DECEMBER
Nightly intermittent lane closures from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. while the new deck is built, according to Fox 17. TDOT has said it aims to finish before the holidays.
GETTING ACROSS, AND GETTING AROUND
For crossing I-65 between WeHo and the neighborhoods to the east, TDOT points drivers to Chestnut Street or Wedgewood Avenue, the same alternates it has recommended since the bridge closed in September.
For through-trips during the full closure, TDOT’s detour sends interstate traffic around the gap on I-40, I-440 and I-24, with signs and message boards marking the way. Local drivers can still use Wedgewood Avenue at Exit 81 to reach nearby streets, Fox 17 reports, though TDOT warns of heavy traffic and delays there. Expect that warning to apply to our side streets as well: when the interstate stops, the traffic looks for the next way through.
When the interstate stops, the traffic looks for the next way through.
ON FOOT AND BY BIKE
When the bridge first closed, TDOT kept its north sidewalk open to pedestrians and cyclists. That appears to be changing. Fox 17 reports the bridge will now stay closed to drivers and pedestrians throughout construction. Anyone who walks or rides across Hamilton should plan on Chestnut or Wedgewood until TDOT says otherwise.
WHY THIS WEEKEND
TDOT anticipated the groans. In its announcement the agency acknowledged that October is crowded with homecomings, fall breaks and concerts, and said it weighed traffic and event-attendance figures before concluding that this window was the best way to finish the work by the holidays. Demolition, TDOT says, cannot wait; the deck has to come out before the new one can go in.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR WEDGEWOOD-HOUSTON
The two crossings TDOT is pointing everyone toward are our crossings. With Hamilton Avenue out until early December, every trip between WeHo and the neighborhoods east of I-65 now runs over Chestnut Street or Wedgewood Avenue. On the demolition weekend, those same two streets are also likely to pick up drivers looking for a way around the closed interstate, on top of the Exit 81 congestion TDOT has already warned about.
Chestnut is not a clean detour. NDOT’s closure map lists an active lane-closure permit on Chestnut Street between its intersections with Wharf and 8th for stormwater, sidewalk and bike-lane installation. The permit’s scheduled dates were not displayed on the map when we checked. If that work is still active October 16 through 19, one of TDOT’s two recommended crossings will be running with reduced lanes on the heaviest weekend of the closure. We have asked for the schedule and will update this story.
This week is the busier one on our own side streets. The map lists milling and paving on Rains Avenue between 4th Avenue South and Wedgewood Avenue through October 11; roadway repair on Rains near Merritt Avenue and anchor placement on Benton Avenue between Bransford and Rains, both through October 9; and a Metro Water service-line repair on Hamilton Avenue at Martin Street through noon on October 8. AT&T’s aerial fiber work on Humphreys Street is scheduled to end at 12 a.m. on October 16, hours before the interstate closes. If those permits hold to schedule, most of the local work clears out before demolition begins.
Two more permits carry no visible end date: intermittent daily lane closures at 1425 4th Avenue South for material deliveries, and a full street closure of Wingrove Street between Nolensville Road and Byrum for utility, sidewalk and bus-stop work. Neither sits on a recommended crossing, but either could add friction to the surrounding grid if it overlaps the closure.
Put together, the next two weeks will ask more of WeHo’s streets than usual, and the neighborhood has fewer ways across the interstate to absorb it. Give yourself extra time for any trip that crosses I-65, especially Friday night, October 16, through Monday morning, and check before you assume Chestnut is the faster option.
WHAT TO DO NOW
If you have plans that weekend that depend on I-65 south of downtown, build in extra time or route around it on I-440 and I-24. If you run a business here, it is worth telling customers and staff now which crossing to use and that the usual interstate exit may be slow. For live conditions, check TDOT’s SmartWay map (smartway.tn.gov) for the interstate and NDOT’s street and lane closure map for local permits before you leave. All of this work is weather-dependent, and dates can shift.
AT A GLANCE
THU OCT 8, 8 P.M.–5 A.M.
SB lane closures; all SB lanes stop about midnight–12:30 a.m.
FRI OCT 16, 8 P.M. – MON OCT 19, 5 A.M.
I-65 fully closed, Exit 210 to near Exit 80
NIGHTLY, THROUGH EARLY DEC.
Intermittent lane closures, 8 p.m.–5 a.m.
CROSS I-65 VIA
Chestnut Street or Wedgewood Avenue
INTERSTATE DETOUR
I-40, I-440, I-24
LIVE CONDITIONS
smartway.tn.gov (interstate); NDOT closure map (local streets)
LIVE CONDITIONS
smartway.tn.gov (interstate); NDOT closure map (local streets)
This report is based on a Tennessee Department of Transportation social media announcement (October 6) and TDOT’s September 10 news release, with additional details as reported by WZTV Fox 17 and WSMV. Local permit information comes from Metro Nashville’s NDOT street and lane closure map as viewed October 6; scheduled permit dates can change.