KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Department of Transportation had added additional reconstruction work to the ongoing project on I-640 in Knoxville that will extend the project into 2024.

A TDOT spokesperson said Friday that crews will conduct additional work to repair bridges within the corridor between the North Broadway interchange and the I-40 Interchange east of the city. The contract completion date has been extended to August 31, 2024, due to the added scope of the project and weather limitations for both paving and striping.

Workers will be performing bridge repair work over the course of the next six weeks as traffic runs in its current configuration. Once Phase 1 bridge work is complete and all intermediate pavement layers have been placed, there will be a traffic shift to allow the contractor access to the other half of the bridges.

Once Phase 2 bridge work is completed, traffic will return to its original configuration. There may be intermittent weekend lane closures to allow the contractor access to bridges over Rutledge Pike and the remaining work near Millertown Pike and Washington Pike ramps.

The latest phase of the multimillion-dollar project began in June 2022 to resurface and rehabilitate the roadway completed in 1982.

Progress on the eastbound side was slowed earlier this year due to the road’s grade being higher than anticipated. A timeline on the TDOT website said that grade issues had been resolved by August 4.

On average, between 66,000 and 87,000 vehicles travel on the busy stretch each day. The speed limit has been reduced to 55 miles per hour for the duration of the project.