Hamilton County studies new potential bridge in Soddy-Daisy

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- Could there one day be a bridge built between Soddy-Daisy and Birchwood in northern Hamilton County?
The question has been raised before, but is now the subject of a 200-thousand grant from TDOT.

Hamilton County Government this grant will allow them to study the current and future economic feasibility of a new bridge across the Tennessee River.

Previously a toll bridge was proposed near the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant by TDOT.

Right now, drivers on either side have to go down to Highway 153 on the Thrasher Bridge or all the way up to Highway 60 across the Tri-County Veterans Bridge.

While in the past TDOT found the project to be infeasible then, county leaders believe rapid growth on both sides of the river could justify it now.

The Director of Development Services, Nathan Janeway, said, “Obviously as we continue to grow, we’re going to continue to grow north because we don’t have much room to grow east or west, and so it’s going to be more and more important some sort of access in northern part of the county from east to west, not just for residents, but for emergency access, bus routes, everything, so that’s what we’re really trying to accomplish here, just figure out how that might look.”

Janeway says the study should be done in 5 to 6 months.

However, if a new bridge is built, it will likely be several years away, at the minimum.