Inspecting an Important Extension in East Tennessee

Gresham Smith designed and performed construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services for Tesla Boulevard, a new road funded through the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Local Programs office. Tesla Boulevard serves as the main road through the new Alcoa West Development, a 350-acre parcel that was once home to the Alcoa Inc. West Plant. The road design is a part of a much larger overall plan including an overhaul to the Hunt Road Interchange and connectivity to McGhee Tyson Airport. The corridor was designed to handle post-development storm water within the closed system of the roadway, conveying to a regional detention basin constructed with the project.

The construction project inspected by the Gresham Smith team included a 1.89-mile, four-lane facility and ramps A and B of the Hunt Road interchange with Alcoa Parkway. Inspection and project documentation were performed in accordance with TDOT specifications and standards and coordinated with all affected utilities. Utilities constructed with the project included decorative street lighting, water, sewer, gas and 11-duct bank for power and communication. The project included a landscaping plan for the boulevard median, including irrigation for maintenance. Due to the historic industrial activity on the site and several documented (and the anticipation of undocumented) landfills within the corridor, a soils management plan was developed to provide instruction on how to contain and dispose of certain hazardous materials.