SR 52 – LAFAYETTE TO RED BOILING

State: Tennessee (Macon County) Agency: Tennessee Department of Transportation Date: 1991 Length: 6 miles Type of Improvement: Field survey and preliminary and final design for a new, rural 2-lane roadway Construction Cost: approx. $9 million Firm's Project Manager(s): Zane T. Young, P.E. – roadway design Brad Meyer, P.E. – roadway design

A view of SR 52 looking west through the project's largest cut section. Note the bridge in the background and the truck-climbing lanes.

Project Description:
This project involved relocating and upgrading SR 52 in Macon County, Tennessee. The existing facility was a narrow, winding, two-lane road with no shoulders and poor horizontal and vertical alignment and sight distances. HMB designed an improved two-lane facility along a new alignment with 12-foot shoulders, truck-climbing lanes, and left-turn lanes at some intersections. The project contained one TDOT-designed bridge, and HMB designed a very large fill to serve as the bridge's abutment. There were also challenges involving accessing a side road in the bridge's vicinity. Late in the design process, the county decided to locate a high school near the beginning of the project. HMB amended the roadway plans to include a three-lane section near the high school to accommodate turning school buses.