Oak Ridge Today

South Illinois Avenue to re-open by midnight

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South Illinois Avenue is expected to re-open by midnight Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, near the University of Tennessee Arboretum after being closed for more than two days because of a large high-voltage transmission tower that was knocked over in a crash on Friday. The repair work is pictured above on Sunday. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

South Illinois Avenue is expected to re-open by midnight near the University of Tennessee Arboretum after being closed for more than two days because a large high-voltage transmission tower was knocked over near the road in a crash on Friday. The road re-opening is expected to occur before the Monday morning commute.

Power is still out for a small southeast portion of the city near the crash site, including the University of Tennessee Arboretum, the City of Oak Ridge said Sunday evening.

The single-vehicle crash into the Tennessee Valley Authority steel lattice transmission tower was reported at Union Valley Road at about 4:15 p.m. Friday. That section of the four-lane road, also known as State Route 62 and Pellissippi Parkway, has been closed since shortly after the crash. The road is the main connection between Oak Ridge, Knox County, and Knoxville.

TVA and the Oak Ridge Electric Department worked over the weekend to replace the damaged transmission tower, which carries TVA and Oak Ridge power lines. The repair crews had help from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Oak Ridge Public Works Department. It was a complex emergency repair, the City of Oak Ridge said.

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Photos: TVA transmission tower repair

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Crews replace the Tennessee Valley Authority’s high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower knocked over in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge has published photos of the work to replace the high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower knocked over in a single-vehicle crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday.

The city said the Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge Electric Department crews are working together, with help from the Oak Ridge Police Department and Public Works Department, to “maintain a safe work environment for a very complex emergency repair.

“Crews are working to have South Illinois Avenue at Union Valley Road open as soon as possible,” the city said.

On Sunday, TVA said the repair work could be complete in time to re-open South Illinois Avenue, a four-lane roadway that connects Oak Ridge to Knox County, for the Monday morning commute. That’s assuming there are no delays due to weather or drilling problems.

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South Illinois could re-open Monday

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Crews repair the damage to the Tennessee Valley Authority distribution system after a pickup truck crashed into a high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower, causing widespread power outages in Oak Ridge and the surrounding area on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Work to repair the damage to a Tennessee Valley Authority transmission tower knocked over in a crash on Friday could be complete in time to open South Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) in time for the Monday morning commute, a spokesperson said Sunday.

However, the schedule could be affected by weather and any potential drilling delays.

TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said heavy equipment, materials, and workers, as well as safety and engineering plans, are required to replace the large high-voltage steel lattice tower that was knocked over by a pickup truck Friday afternoon. The safety and engineering were completed Friday evening, Brooks said.

“The heavy equipment, materials, and manpower needed to perform the work are either on site or en route,” he said. “We currently expect the work to be completed in time for Highway 62 to be open for the Monday morning commute. Risks to that schedule are weather and potential drilling delays due to the topography (i.e. rock).”

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Crews repairing damage after crash knocks down power tower

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Crews repair the damage to the Tennessee Valley Authority distribution system after a pickup truck crashed into a steel lattice transmission tower, causing widespread power outages in Oak Ridge and the surrounding area on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. The work is pictured above on Saturday evening. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Crews were repairing the damage to the Tennessee Valley Authority power distribution system on Saturday after a pickup truck crashed into a large high-voltage steel lattice transmission tower on Friday, knocking it down and causing widespread electrical outages.

All four lanes of South Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) in Oak Ridge remain closed between Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road and Bethel Valley Road while the repairs are being made. It’s not clear how long the work might take. The road remains closed because of heavy equipment, low hanging lines, and the safety of work crews, the City of Oak Ridge said Saturday.

Power to the University of Tennessee Arboretum remained out Saturday evening, the city said.

The steel lattice tower that was damaged Friday appeared to have been removed by Saturday evening, or it was no longer leaning near the roadway the way it had been Friday.

The crash was reported at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue, near the UT Arboretum, at about 4:15 p.m. Friday. Three people were injured, and charges are pending against the driver.

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Part of South Illinois Ave. remains closed

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A large high-voltage transmission tower was knocked down in a single-vehicle crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, causing widespread power outages. Repairs are being made. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The section of South Illinois Avenue between Bethel Valley Road and Lafayette Drive remains closed after a crash knocked over a high-voltage transmission tower on Friday afternoon, the Oak Ridge Police Department said Saturday morning.

The ORPD posted a roadway update at 10 a.m. Saturday. Officers advised drivers to seek alternate routes and expect delays.

Police expect the road to remain closed throughout the evening. Both northbound and southbound lanes are blocked.

Here are detour routes:

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Power restored to Oak Ridge except for Arboretum

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Electric crews repair the damage caused by a crash into a TVA high-voltage transmission tower next to South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Power was restored to all of Oak Ridge except for the University of Tennessee Arboretum after a crash knocked down a high-voltage transmission tower Friday afternoon, the city said Friday night.

The single-vehicle crash caused the tower to fall over and created widespread power outages. Many residents reported having power restored within about one to three hours, while it seemed to take longer to restore power in the southeast section of the city, closer to the crash site.

In its last update, posted at 10:10 p.m., the City of Oak Ridge said the Arboretum will be without power through Saturday.

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Charges pending, three injured in crash into TVA transmission tower

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Charges are pending after a crash into an electrical transmission tower that caused widespread power outages Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Charges are pending and three people were injured in a single-vehicle crash into a large high-voltage transmission tower that caused widespread power outages Friday afternoon, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

The crash was reported at about 4:15 p.m. Friday at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

A preliminary report from the THP said Dustin Elliot, 28, of Mobile, Alabama, was driving a white 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck north on South Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) when he went off the right side of the road and hit the Tennessee Valley Authority transmission tower. The tower was damaged, knocked over, and leaning over the road.

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Large transmission tower knocked down, causing power outages

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A large electrical transmission tower was knocked down in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2021, causing widespread power outages. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 1:30 a.m. Jan 23.

A large high-voltage transmission tower was knocked down in a crash at Union Valley Road and South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, causing widespread power outages.

Power went out in sections of Oak Ridge at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. Stoplights were not operating, and South Illinois Avenue was closed to traffic in a section north and south of the University of Tennessee Arboretum. Traffic was backed up for miles, and drivers were redirected to alternate routes.

A heavily damaged white pickup truck was at the crash site. An overturned Bobcat was behind the pickup truck.

The City of Oak Ridge said the pickup truck hit the transmission tower. The driver of the truck involved in the crash and a passenger had injuries that were not life-threatening, the city said. Both were taken to local hospitals.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

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Protesters will say nuclear weapons illegal under UN treaty

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OREPA Spring Demonstration at Y-12
Members of Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance and supporters gather across from the Y-12 National Security Complex to protest the plant’s Uranium Processing Facility in April 2013. (File photo)

Protesters plan to hang a banner at a nuclear weapons production site in Oak Ridge early Friday afternoon that will declare the weapons illegal under a United Nations treaty.

The banner, which will say “Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal,” will be hung on a fence across from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Scarboro Road. The banner will be hung after parts of the international agreement—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—are read, organizers said.

Protesters said they also plan to hang a poster of the text of the treaty and 122 yellow “X”s on the fence, one for every nation that voted in favor of the treaty at the United Nations.

“January 22, 2021, will be a historic day for nuclear weapons,” according to a press release from Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, which has organized weekly and annual events opposing nuclear weapons for many years. “On that day, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.”

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TVA will blast rock to build substation

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The Tennessee Valley Authority is building a substation off Old Edgemoor Lane at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road in east Oak Ridge. The construction work is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority and its work crews will blast rock in the next several weeks to build an electrical substation in east Oak Ridge. The new substation is being built before the Bull Run Fossil Plant, across the Clinch River in Claxton, closes in 2023.

The blasting was scheduled to start Thursday, January 21, but it was delayed due to weather. When it starts, the blasting work could last three weeks, TVA said in a press release. Controlled, low-charge detonations will be used to blast the rock. Blasting will occur periodically between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and traffic and pedestrian controls will be in place, TVA said.

The new Anderson County substation site is off Old Edgemoor Road at Haw Ridge Park, near Edgemoor Road.

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Council to consider accepting airport grants

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This is an aerial image of a layout plan for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority)

The Oak Ridge City Council will consider accepting grants for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport on Tuesday.

The airport would be built along Highway 58 on the south side of the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site.

Council will meet online to consider accepting the airport grants in a special session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 19. You can watch the meeting here.

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Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID

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Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Fleischmann announced his positive diagnosis on Sunday.

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19.

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