Cookeville officials are moving forward with a specialized grout injection project to repair a significant roadway settlement on Interstate Drive that has created a noticeable dip for motorists.
City Manager James Mills said the project targets a section of the road near Starbucks and Smart Bank. Public Works officials recommended a $319,000 bid from a Knoxville company to perform the work.
“If you’ve driven through Interstate Drive, you’ve felt that dip, especially if you’ve gone at any speed at all,” Mills said. “So this is a specialized repair. It’s had a lot of settlement in there and it goes down, the soils aren’t suitable for up to 40 feet in depth. And the way this is repaired is through a grout system. They inject in that, fill it up and it will raise it up and solidify it.”
Mills said the city explored several options for the repair but determined that excavating the entire area would be too costly and disruptive to traffic. The grout injection method allows the city to keep the road partially open by working on one lane at a time.
“We’ve been working on this for several months analyzing what’s the best way to fix this,” Mills said. “You know the other option was to dig all this out and you can’t close Interstate Drive unless you just I can’t imagine what kind of traffic nightmare that would be.”
The project is scheduled to begin June 22 and should be finished by the end of September. Mills said the timing is intended to coordinate with a larger plan to resurface all of Interstate Drive later this year.
“We plan to repave all of Interstate Drive,” Mills said. “The lane widening will actually pave that section at that time and it’ll go back to this area where the settlement is.”
The city also plans to hire UES for $15,000 to provide 15 days of oversight and inspection during the drilling and grouting process. Mills said the firm will conduct testing to ensure the repair reaches the necessary strength to maintain the roadway.
City Council will approve the bid Thursday.