Tennessee Department of Transportation
Phase 2 of TDOT’s I-55 interchange plan
Riverside Drive will be closed for 21 months from Crump to Carolina during the three-year construction project to build a new interchange at I-55 and Crump Boulevard, according to Tennessee Department of Transportation [TDOT] officials.
During the closure, north-bound traffic into Downtown Memphis (that is now carried by Riverside Drive) will be diverted from I-55 to the McLemore Avenue exit, then north on Florida Street, then east on Georgia Avenue, to continue north on Front Street (behind Central Station).
This detail of the plan was revealed during Thursday evening’s meeting on the topic in Memphis, according to the project manager, TDOT’s Steve Chipman.
The stretch of Riverside will remain open during the first 12 months of the project, which starts at the beginning of 2016. But the I-55 northbound exit from Riverside will be closed to build a railroad access road. Also, the Riverside exit to Crump heading east will be closed for the 12-month period to build the I-55 southbound ramp.
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But Riverside Drive from Crump to Carolina will be completely closed for nine months, during the second phase of construction, which starts at the beginning of 2017. I-55 will also be completely closed during this time from the McLemore Ave. interchange all the way to Channel 3 Drive. The southbound detour from Riverside is Riverside to Carolina to Florida Street to McLeMore.
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Tennessee Department of Transportation
Phase 3 of TDOT’s I-55 interchange plan.
Riverside from Crump to Carolina will remain closed for 12 months during the third phase of construction, which begins late 2017. The same detour heading south applies during that time (Riverside to Carolina to Florida to Crump). Northbound detour is the same, too (McLemore, to Florida, Georgia, to Front Street).
But I-55 traffic will be open during the third phase to the new south-bound I-55 lanes. The north-bound lanes will remain closed as crews build the interchange bridges and the roundabout.
