MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Drivers are going frustrated as they wait for a stretch of Sam Cooper Boulevard construction project to be completed. The project is aimed at keeping drivers safe while on the major east-west Memphis thoroughfare.
Memphians said Monday the improvements are important; however, they also said their patience is growing thin.
In the summer of 2020, city of Memphis leaders accepted construction bids to repair 11 bridges and overpasses along Sam Cooper.
That consisted of roughly three miles between Mendenhall and Holmes.
According to a 2013 TDOT inspection list, six of those 11 Sam Cooper bridges were rated ‘poor’.
Right now, the Highland bridge interchange is receiving the brunt of the work and it’s causing lane closures and delays for drivers.
Initially, city planners hoped to complete the work by last June but that timeframe is long gone.
Monday, drivers near the construction said they try to avoid the area if possible.
“Taking too long, taking too long, so you never know how long they are going to be, when they are going to be done, none of that, so, just patiently waiting,” Tarvis Grandberry said.
“It's a major hassle, it's been like that for a long time, you've got cars trying to merge, it's just too congested,” Dexter Smith added.
ABC24 reached out to the City of Memphis engineering department on a construction update and what factors set back the original completion goal, but didn’t heard back.