MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A crack in a bridge in Mt. Juliet is creating some panic among community members.
Officials with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Mt. Juliet Public Works say it is safe to drive and walk on and that the crack is only cosmetic. However, residents told News 2 by the look of it, the deterioration is alarming.
“I was on my way to the church, and I noticed on the left side of the bridge there was a giant crack,” Zak Nobis said.
Nobis said he took to social media after he came across the crack in the Cedar Creek bridge.
“I don’t know about concrete, so I figured I just posted some pictures to see what the public thought,” Nobis said.
Mt. Juliet Vice Mayor Ray Justice said residents have been contacting him with concerns.
“Many, many years ago, this was widened and some folks have seen there is damage to the bridge and reported it. But it seems like it set off some city wide panic in the social media world,” Justice said.
As for TDOT, the director of structures said there’s an environmental reason as to why it looks this way.
“It doesn’t look very good, but a lot of the bridges, especially in Wilson County, they are founded on rock and they are designed to move a little bit when they get warm and cold,” Ted Kniazewycz, TDOT Director of Structures said.
Meanwhile, the justice said there are several other infrastructure projects that need attention from TDOT as congestion continues to be a top concern near Park Glen Drive.
“We have people who are backed up a mile at a time just trying to get to their homes, and this has been going on for a long, long time and the responsiveness of the TDOT has not been good,” Justice said.
Justice said while there are no safety concerns on the bridge, the crack will not sit on the back burner.
“We don’t like things to linger, we like things fixed ASAP, and if has anything to do with this it will be fixed ASAP,” Justice said.
As for now, TDOT said there is no timeline for when the bridge will be fixed.