A large sinkhole opened up in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 near the Grundy/Coffee County line in Tennessee Tuesday.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said emergency repairs are now underway, and it expects the repairs to be finished by May 22.

Tuesday afternoon, TDOT awarded a $267,000 contract to Highways Inc. to repair the damage immediately. The sinkhold is located between mile marker 127 and exit 127 and is estimated to be 25 feet wide and 25 feet deep.

The state will be detouring traffic off I-24 at exit 114 to Highway 41 then to State Route 50 and back onto I-24 at exit 127.

TDOT suggests several alternate routes for motorists traveling from Nashville to the Chattanooga area, including I-65 south to U.S. 64, exit 14, east to I-24; I-40 east to State Route 111, exit 288, south to U.S. 27 to Chattanooga; or I-24 east to U.S. 231, exit 81, south/west to US-41A south/east to I-24 at mile marker 134.

Motorists heading to Atlanta may also take I-65 south to Birmingham then I-20 to Atlanta.

For travel information, visit www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway.