A truck hauling an over-sized piece of construction equipment struck the concrete outer beam of the Moore Road bridge over I-24 East on Tuesday afternoon, causing considerable damage to the beam. Special crews were brought in to replace the damaged beam, and the freeway was open by 2 a.m.

I-24 East beneath the Moore Road bridge was closed to traffic and a TDOT bridge inspection team conducted a thorough inspection to assess the extent of the damage. As a result, TDOT engineers determined that the beam needed to be removed. Crews with Dement Construction Company were called to the scene to perform this work.

Before the beam was repaired, traffic on I-24 East was detoured off at Exit 184 and back onto I-24 East. Moore Road was also closed to traffic. TDOT worked closely with the city of Chattanooga’s traffic signal systems engineer to coordinate traffic signals in the area.

I-24 East and Moore Road remained closed until the work was complete.

The problem was caused by the long arm of a backhoe on a dump truck. The dump truck with the backhoe was pulled over at the Ringgold Road exit of I-75.

The wreck happened at 2:39 p.m.

Westbound traffic was not affected.

Asked if the dump truck driver and/or her employer could be made to pay for the damages, Jennifer Flynn of TDOT said:

"It is the policy of TDOT to seek reimbursement of recoverable costs from the at-fault party or parties for costs associated with repairs to damaged state property and roadway structures when we know who is responsible for causing the damage to state property.

"The Finance Division will submit claims to insurance companies, vehicle owners, and/or operators in order to ensure the state is fully compensated. If a bridge is damaged and we cannot find out who caused the damage, we have to absorb the cost of repairs. Any monies we recover go to the state’s General Fund and not directly to TDOT. We do not always get fully reimbursed.

"Thankfully, bridge damage events are comparatively infrequent, but, when they do happen, damages usually run into the six-figure territory. When amicable full reimbursements do not happen, whether for reason of policy limits or disputed charges, we refer the matter to the Attorney General’s office."