Road work in Lancaster

By Eddie West Staff Writer

Rehabilitation work on a slide area on state Highway 141/Lancaster Highway in the Lancaster community is moving forward.

An embankment located along the Caney Fork River gave way in March of this year near the DeKalb County line during a period of heavy rainfall.

When the embankment gave way, a section of the state highway began buckling, giving way to the center lane. 

The cost to correct the massive slide area and restore the roadway in a section which runs along the Caney Fork River is almost three million dollars.

A look at the construction zone demonstrates why the project is so costly to the state.

A section of entire roadbed has been removed almost to the level of the Caney Fork River.

Also, specialized equipment is being used to dig deep into the ground to install steel beams in order to prevent high water during peak generation periods at the Center Hill Dam from cutting into the roadway’s embankment.

When the roadway first gave way in March, one lane of the state highway remained open with the use of a portable stoplight installed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) for a period.

READ MORE IN THIS WEEK’S COURIER