Walker’s Supply building coming down Saturday

By Rick Laney
of The Daily Times Staff

The main Walker’s Supply building at one of Alcoa’s busiest intersections will be demolished Saturday.

The project, scheduled to begin around 5 a.m., will force road and lane closures around the intersection of Hall Road and East Lincoln Road.
According to Jeff Headrick, project manager for Alcoa-based Volunteer Excavating, there will be traffic control signs directing motorists through the detours and lane changes until 7 p.m. Saturday.

The demolition will begin with the removal of an electrical pole, electrical lines and traffic signals at the intersection of Hall and East Lincoln roads. The building should start coming down around 7:30 a.m., according to Headrick.

Northbound Hall Road will be closed and vehicles will be routed to the inside southbound lane. Southbound vehicles will be routed to the outside southbound lane.

Motorists traveling west on East Lincoln Road will find a detour beginning across from Aluminum Avenue, directing vehicles behind Walker’s Lighting and Alcoa Tenn Federal Credit Union. Walker’s Lighting will not be demolished with the other Walker’s buildings.

Once on the detour, motorists will have the option of crossing Hall Road onto Telford Street. Vehicles will be directed south one block onto Rankin Road and then to West Lincoln Road.

Eastbound travelers will detour onto northbound Rankin Road and then east onto Telford Street. Motorists will have the option of crossing North Hall Road where they will be directed behind the Alcoa Tenn Federal Credit Union and Walker’s Lighting onto East Lincoln Road.

During the demolition, some entrances to Food City and Big Lots will be closed.
Alcoa Police and Blount County Sheriff’s deputies will help direct traffic during the project.

After 60 years of business in Alcoa, Walker’s Supply broke ground on a new 70,000-square-foot facility on Middlesettlements Road last August. Walker’s Supply will occupy one of six new commercial parcels being developed by Chris Soro of engineering firm C2RL Inc. on 18 acres behind the Wal-Mart and Lowe’s stores on Hunters Crossing Drive.

Walker’s Supply sold its current warehouse and showroom property on Sept. 4 to Lincoln & Aluminum LLC of St. Petersburg, Fla., for $1.1 million. Lincoln & Aluminum, which is developing the property for CVS/pharmacy, plans to spend $3.1 million on the new drug store and then lease the building to CVS.