What time do the cones come out? For anyone in East Brainerd with a holiday list this year, that question matters more than which store opens first. Two state road projects sit on the routes most people use to reach Hamilton Place and East Brainerd Road. Both run on posted hours, and those hours point in opposite directions.
The interchange crews at Hamilton Place have a night window, and nearly every mall event on the holiday calendar happens outside it. The bridge crews on East Brainerd Road work days, which puts them on the road at the same hours as the weekend markets and Santa visits.
Hamilton Place: the crews take over after the stores close
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is rebuilding the I-75 interchange at Hamilton Place Mall together with the City of Chattanooga. Construction started in summer 2023. TDOT's roadway activity report for Oct. 29 through Nov. 4 lists the current setup. The SR-153 southbound ramp to I-75 northbound is down to one lane. Traffic shifts are in place on I-75 in both directions, on the Shallowford Road entrance and exit ramps, and on the Hamilton Place Mall exit ramp. The speed limit is lower through the project. Nightly lane closures are permitted from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Put that 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. window next to the mall's holiday hours and most of the season falls outside it.
| Holiday stop | Posted hours | Overlap with the 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. interchange lane-closure window |
|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Place, Black Friday, Nov. 27 | 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. | The last hour, 8 to 9 p.m. |
| Hamilton Place, Thanksgiving, Nov. 26 | Closed | None |
| Santa photos, Nov. 7 to Dec. 10 | Noon to 7 p.m. Mon. to Sat., noon to 6 p.m. Sun. | None |
| Santa photos, Dec. 11 to 17 | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon. to Sat., noon to 6 p.m. Sun. | Only at the 8 p.m. close |
| Ford's Garage, Fri. and Sat. | 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. | The last three hours |
The Black Friday opening is the tightest fit. The doors open at 7 a.m., one hour after the overnight lane-closure window ends. The exception is the traffic shifts and the one-lane SR-153 ramp. Those are in place all day, so the reduced speed limit and narrowed ramp apply no matter when you drive.
One closure sits right next to the parking lots. TDOT's Oct. 15 to 21 report listed Hamilton Loop Road as closed between the intersections near Markman's Jewelers and Texas Roadhouse while crews built a retaining wall and installed storm drainage. Before cutting behind the mall to save a light, check TDOT's latest weekly report.
What the interchange is building toward
The current traffic shifts make more sense once you see the finished design. Today a driver heading south on I-75 has no exit onto Hamilton Place Boulevard, and a driver on Hamilton Place Boulevard has no on-ramp to northbound I-75. TDOT's part of the project adds both movements and turns the interchange into what the agency calls a "full access facility." It also improves the existing ramps and signalizes several intersections.
The project page lists the pieces:
- Two new interstate ramps with 16-foot lanes
- A 225-foot bridge over I-75
- A 991-foot bridge over the northbound exit ramp to Shallowford Road
- A 1,414-foot, 11-span bridge over the southbound entrance ramp from Shallowford Road
- Nine new retaining walls and one noise wall on the southbound side at the north end
- Six new overhead signs and new interstate and ramp lighting
The City of Chattanooga's share is on the boulevard itself. Hamilton Place Boulevard is being widened into a multilane road with curb and gutter, three signalized intersections, street lighting, and 5-foot sidewalks along the east side.
The newest restaurant is on the street being widened
Ford's Garage opened on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 2102 Hamilton Place Blvd., right on the boulevard the city is widening. Chattanoogan.com reported that it's the brand's first restaurant in Tennessee and its 36th location. The building is 8,000 square feet and seats about 250 guests.
The decor is a 1920s service station with Ford memorabilia. The menu is built around half-pound Certified Angus Beef burgers, along with local craft beer. The franchise belongs to TN Legends, a group of Tennessee natives that includes managing partner Ted Moats, a founder of Logan's Roadhouse. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It offers dine-in and pickup. A Saturday lunch after a morning of shopping fits entirely inside the hours when the interchange lanes are open.
East Brainerd Road works on the opposite clock
The other project runs on daytime hours, and its finish date is a long way off. On East Brainerd Road, also known as SR-320, TDOT is replacing the bridge over the CSX railroad. The Times Free Press places the overpass between Brainerd Road and Interstate 24. Dement Construction holds the $10.2 million contract, and the completion date is June 30, 2028. The new bridge is going up next to the old one, with a shifted alignment and new approaches in both directions, according to the Times Free Press.
For now, crews are moving utility poles and overhead lines and flagging traffic daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the same TDOT report for Oct. 29 through Nov. 4. That window covers the middle of a Saturday errand run, so here the timing works against shoppers.
Full closures have come up on weekends so far, and they come with a long detour. For the Oct. 24 to 26 closure between Vance Road and Prosperity Lane, WDEF reported that westbound drivers were sent up I-75 North to SR-153 North, then Lee Highway South, and back onto East Brainerd Road. An earlier weekend closure in October shut the CSX overpass itself, with local traffic only between Brainerd Road and Benham Drive and between Hickory Valley Road and Premier Drive. Both closures ran from 5 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday, which is when holiday markets and Santa visits happen.
A separate resurfacing job covers East Brainerd Road from I-24 to Lee Highway. Wright Brothers Construction Co. is doing the work for close to $3.2 million, and it was scheduled to run through Halloween. TDOT spokesperson Gracie Shamblin told the Times Free Press that the finished corridor will have "updated ADA curb ramps throughout the corridor, a smoother driving surface and improved pavement markings."
The calendar, with the clock in mind
- Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8: Christkindlmarkt at The Commons in Collegedale, per Shop the Market At. Santa's season at Hamilton Place also opens Nov. 7, with photos on Level 1 starting at noon.
- Mondays, Nov. 9 through Dec. 14: Pet Photos with Santa at Hamilton Place. The mall recommends reservations.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: The Don Eaves Heritage House Holiday Market. Local vendors, artisans, and home-based businesses fill the house, the porch, and the sidewalk to Jack Benson Heritage Park. Admission is free, door prizes go out every hour, and a registered attendee wins a grand prize at the end of the day, according to Chattanoogan.com. For questions, contact Heritage House at [email protected] or 423-643-7009.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Hamilton Place is closed for Thanksgiving.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Hamilton Place opens at 7 a.m. for Black Friday and closes at 9 p.m.
- Through Dec. 24: Santa photos continue at Hamilton Place. Hours run later Dec. 11 to 17 and vary over the final week.
TDOT posts a new roadway activity report every week, and the times in this post come from the latest one. Before any weekend trip down East Brainerd Road, check the newest report or the TDOT SmartWay Map, or call 511.
A new interchange and a realigned bridge will both change how people reach their homes around Hamilton Place and along East Brainerd Road. If you're weighing a move nearby, Billy Rench's contractor background helps when you're judging how a construction project could affect a particular street. Trish Savage Homes can walk through those plans with you. Contact Us.
