Center Hill Dam on the Caney Fork River in Lancaster, Tennessee, is pictured Feb. 19, 2026. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is closing State Highway 141/96, which crosses the dam, to all traffic from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday June 22. The closure is necessary for crews to move equipment for an ongoing project to replace the dam’s spillway gates. (Noe Gonzalez U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo)
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LANCASTER, Tenn. (June 18, 2026) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is closing State Highway 141/96 at Center Hill Dam in Lancaster to all traffic from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, June 22.
The ongoing Center Hill Dam spillway gates replacement project requires the roadway closure. Contractor American Bridge Co. operates a crane over the bridge to facilitate construction activities. If weather delays operations on Monday, crews shift the closure to Tuesday, June 23.
Officials encourage commuters to plan alternate routes. The closure prohibits both pedestrian and vehicular traffic from crossing the dam. Message boards display closure details, and crews turn them off as soon as the roadway safely reopens.
The Nashville District replaces the dam’s spillway gates and lifting equipment to upgrade its flood risk and water management infrastructure within the Cumberland River Basin. A 2016 design documentation report indicates the 37-foot-tall gates are subject to overstress, and operators cannot safely use them when the lake elevation exceeds 65% of their height.
Replacing and restoring the spillway gates and lifting equipment to full operability ensures the project provides authorized flood damage reduction capabilities for many years to come.
For more information or to ask questions about the closure, please email the Nashville District Public Affairs Office at chief.public-affairs@usace.army.mil.
About Us:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the nation’s first engineering organization, committed to delivering innovative engineering solutions that benefit the American people. The district’s mission is to deliver vital engineering solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to strengthen national security, energize our economy, and reduce disaster risk.
The Nashville District focuses on civil works operations across a 59,000-square-mile area spanning seven states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Virginia. It manages critical water resources within the Cumberland and Tennessee River basins, balancing flood risk management, commercial navigation, hydropower production, recreation, water supply, and water quality. The district operates 10 dams in the Cumberland River Basin and maintains 14 navigation lock projects on the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems. The district is protecting people from water, protecting water from people, and making water useful.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/About/Districts/Nashville-District/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at www.x.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.
