TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) Alcoa Highway Relocation from Hall Road to Airport Road

S&ME performed a subsurface exploration for relocation and widening of over 12 miles of State Route 115 (US-129 or Alcoa Highway) from Hall Road in Blount County to Woodson Road in Knox County. The project also included improving and/or extending several adjacent roads and reconfiguring the McGhee Tyson Airport Interchange, the Singleton Station Road interchange, and the Alcoa Highway/I-140 interchange.

Borings were also performed within the roadway and on private land after contacting the landowners. S&ME personnel coordinated clearing activities to access areas where new ramps, new bridges, new retaining walls, and new slopes will be constructed. Several locations were initially only accessible on foot and required substantial clearing and grading activities to construct access for our all-terrain drill rigs.

S&ME’s geotechnical lab testing included natural moisture content, Atterberg limits testing, standard Proctor testing, grain size analyses, California Bearing Ratio testing, triaxial testing, compression testing of soil and rock, and consolidation testing. Our geotechnical staff prepared individual reports for roadways, walls, and bridges and performed consolidation, slope stability, undercut calculations, and periodic readings of piezometers to monitor ground water levels.

Our services included cost saving measures for TDOT while maintaining the health, welfare, and safety of the public at the forefront of our design services. After the initial subsurface explorations and design analyses are complete, the geotechnical engineer’s work is not done. As the project progresses, S&ME continuously works with TDOT and the contractor on construction issues that impact design through additional engineering and analyses.