Background and construction

The Chickamauga Dam was constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) from 1936 to 1940 in order to provide electricity, flood control, and improved navigation to the region. While the dam did not initially contain a bridge, it was designed to allow for one to be constructed, and TVA would initially agree to only construct a bridge if it were tied into a larger system of highways. While the dam was under construction, the Tennessee Department of Highways (predecessor agency to TDOT) began studying the possibility of constructing a bridge across the dam to connect US 11 and US 27. ^[2] On January 18, 1940, Tennessee Congressman (and later Senator) Estes Kefauver proposed an amendment to a TVA appropriations bill that would have provided funding for a bridge across the dam, but this was rejected by the full house.^[3] From 1947 to 1949, Hamilton County Judge Wilkes T. Thrasher made several trips to Washington D.C. requesting federal funding and approval of the bridge. On July 31, 1947, Kefauver announced that the bridge had been approved by the Public Roads Administration (predecessor to the Federal Highway Administration).^[4]

Construction on the bridge approaches began on November 21, 1949,^[5] and work on the concrete bridge piers began one year later.^[6] Completion of the bridge was initially slated for late 1951, but was repeatedly delayed by steel shortages. As a result, construction on the steel piers and beams did not begin until August 1953.^[7][8] Steel erection was completed on March 31, 1954, and the bridge was dedicated and opened to traffic on October 15, 1954, in a ceremony officially naming it for Thrasher.^[9][10] The bridge was constructed with two traffic lanes and sidewalks, but was designed to be expanded to four lanes. It was officially christened the "Wilkes T. Thrasher Bridge" in a ceremony on July 1, 1955.^[11]

While the bridge across the dam was under construction, the local and state governments began planning for a four-lane highway that would connect US 41 in East Ridge near the Georgia state line to US 27 in Red Bank, and serve as a bypass around downtown Chattanooga. In addition, this route was planned to serve the rapidly-developing industrial areas along the Tennessee River, as well as the Volunteer Ordnance Works ammunition plant, the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (then Lovell Field), and the suburban neighborhoods along the route which had recently begun to develop. The route was also expected to relieve traffic on SR 317 (then SR 2A), which was expected to become congested once the bridge across the dam was completed.^[12][13] On August 1, 1953, the Hamilton County government announced that they had chosen the route for the stretch between SR 317 and US 27 out of two proposed alignments.^[14] This highway was officially incorporated into the state highway system as SR 153 in 1954.

Construction of the section between Hixson Pike and US 27 began on May 2, 1955,^[15] and paving was completed on December 27, 1957. The section between SR 317 and south of the dam was let on November 16, 1956, and completed around July 1958. Due to higher-than-anticipated traffic volumes, a decision was made in September 1958 for the remainder of SR 158 to be controlled-access.^[16] The authorization of the Interstate Highway System in June 1956 resulted in the need to reevaluate the plans for SR 153 to extend to US 41,^[17] and by January 1959, plans were changed for the route to begin at I-75 instead.^[18] On August 31, 1962, a contract was awarded to construct the section between I-75 and SR 317;^[19] this was completed around late 1964.

Later history

The intersection with Amnicola Highway was converted into a cloverleaf interchange in 1964-65. In March 1957, it was reported that a project to widen the Thrasher Bridge to four lanes had been included in the state's 5-year highway program, and would take place in 1961.^[17] This project, however, did not occur until 1984. At the same time, the road was widened to four lanes between the dam and south of Hixson Pike. When the four-lane controlled-access alignment of US 27 that replaced the old Dayton Pike was constructed in the mid-to-late 1970s, the SR 153 designation was extended approximately 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) north along this route to the new freeway. The stretch between north of Hixson Pike and near Grubb Road was widened to four lanes in the mid-to-late 1980s. In the mid 1990s, the sections between DuPont Parkway and Hixson Pike, and from Hixson Pike to north of Gadd were widened to six lanes. The six-lane section was extended north to near Grubb Road in the mid 2000s.