South Illinois Avenue Archives

Police rescue unconscious driver from burning vehicle

April 28, 2013 By John Huotari 5 Comments

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from this burning vehicle on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Police Department)

Oak Ridge police officers rescued an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle that went down an embankment on Irene Lane on Friday night, authorities said.

The unnamed driver, a 26-year-old Oak Ridge resident, was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville after the 11:30 p.m. crash, which shut down the northbound lanes of North Illinois Avenue, authorities said.

Eight officers responded, and they used fire extinguishers to fight the flames and keep police from getting burned, an Oak Ridge Police Department statement said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department also responded.

Site work starts at Weigel’s on South Illinois

April 26, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

Site work has started on a new Weigel’s convenience store that will include 16 gas pumps and could open later this summer or in the early fall on South Illinois Avenue.

Site work has started for a new Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue.

The convenience store is expected to include 16 gas pumps and could open in the late summer or early fall, said Chris Ooten, Weigel’s real estate director.

The roughly 4,000-square-foot store will be on a 1.5-acre parcel south of TNBank.

Ooten said Weigel’s closed on the property about a month ago and has been working on utilities since then. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Chris Ooten, Potomac Circle, South Illinois Avenue, Weigel's

After large disturbance, ORPD warns restaurant to avoid over-serving alcohol

March 16, 2013 By John Huotari 2 Comments

One month after a large reported disturbance, the city’s deputy police chief told the owners of a popular restaurant and bar in central Oak Ridge that they need to monitor customers who are drinking and not serve people who have consumed too much alcohol.

The warning to the owners of Lincoln’s Sports Grille came during a Monday meeting of the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board.

That board had called a show cause hearing for Lincoln’s, which is on South Illinois Avenue, after a Feb. 10 fight that reportedly started as an argument between two men over a woman and escalated into a large disturbance that required an entire shift of police officers to respond.

Saturday morning flurries dump an inch or more of snow

February 2, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A furniture truck and a sedan crashed Saturday morning on slippery, snow-covered South Illinois Avenue. There didn’t appear to be any injuries, but the northbound lanes were closed for more than an hour.

The last time it snowed in Oak Ridge, some residents were disappointed that it didn’t stick.

This time was different. Saturday morning flurries quickly dumped an inch of snow or more on Oak Ridge, covering roadways and making driving treacherous.

There appeared to be at least several minor accidents, including on Oak Ridge Turnpike, Lafayette Drive, and South Illinois Avenue.

Planning commissioners consider rezonings for grocery, store

January 17, 2013 By John Huotari 4 Comments

A grocery story and commercial store are being considered at two small sites on South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The unnamed grocery store could be built on a 2.3-acre parcel at the new Woodland Town Center, where Aubrey’s and Panera Bread recently opened. The store would be across from the two restaurants, on the other side of a new roadway called Woodland Terrace East.

Construction work starts on Centrifuge Way interchange

December 4, 2012 By John Huotari 3 Comments

Construction work has started on a $1 million state project to improve the interchange at South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in Oak Ridge.

Construction work has started on a $1.2 million state project to improve the interchange at Centrifuge Way and South Illinois Avenue, or State Route 62.

The work started Nov. 14 and could be complete by June 15, said Mark Nagi, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesman.

The work is being done by J&M Grading Division LLC of Friendsville under a $1.165 million contract, Nagi said.

The work includes building three detention ponds that will be used as sediment basins during construction, reconfiguring the interchange, and extending Centrifuge Way, which was formerly known as Boeing Road.

Restaurant worker reports assault while taking out trash

November 30, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An employee at Lincoln’s Sports Grille on South Illinois Avenue reported that he was hit in the head by an unknown suspect as he took out the trash early Friday morning, authorities said.

The employee said he was taking the trash to a dumpster behind Lincoln’s at about 12:23 a.m. Friday when he was struck from behind without warning, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said. The restaurant worker said the suspect laughed after hitting him, but made no other statement before fleeing east across ORAU Way.

Oak Ridge man injured in rollover accident released from UT hospital

November 21, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge man injured in a rollover accident on South Illinois Avenue has been discharged from the University of Tennessee Medical Center, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

Montgomery Lloyd Samu-Dodson, 21, of Nevada Circle was flown by Lifestar helicopter to the hospital after the 9 p.m. Monday wreck at the Bethel Valley Road overpass.

Driver injured in rollover accident on South Illinois Avenue

November 20, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An Oak Ridge driver was injured in this rollover accident at about 9 p.m. Monday on South Illinois Avenue near Edgemoor Road, authorities said (Photo by Tom Scott)

An Oak Ridge driver injured in a rollover accident Monday night reportedly passed other cars at high speed and changed lanes before drifting off South Illinois Avenue, striking a cement bridge rail at Bethel Valley Road, and traveling a total of about 100 feet through the air, an accident report said.

The driver was trapped inside the vehicle, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said. Rescuers cut the unidentified driver out of the 1995 Jeep Cherokee, removing the vehicle’s roof, windshield, remaining side windows, and driver’s side doors.

The driver was then flown by a Lifestar helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, an Oak Ridge Police Department report said.

The ORPD report identified the driver as Montgomery Lloyd Samu-Dodson, a 21-year-old Nevada Circle resident

New traffic signal at Woodland Town Center, South Illinois

November 6, 2012 By John Huotari 2 Comments

A new traffic signal is expected to start operating Wednesday, Nov. 14, in front of the Woodland Town Center on South Illinois Avenue.

The new shopping center includes a Aubrey’s restaurant and a larger, relocated Panera Bread.

The traffic light is at the intersection of South Illinois and a new road called Woodland Terrace East. It replaces a short section of Quincy Avenue that was removed to make way for Woodland Town Center.

New Panera opens Sunday, Aubrey’s opens Monday

October 27, 2012 By John Huotari 2 Comments

A new, larger Panera Bread will open Sunday morning on South Illinois Avenue, and a new Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday.

Panera Bread will open its new store Sunday morning, and Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday, staff members said.

Panera, which already has an Oak Ridge store, is moving into a new, larger restaurant on South Illinois Avenue. The old store is now closed, a staff member said Saturday evening, and the new diner will open at 7 a.m. Sunday.

Aubrey’s is next to the new Panera store and will open at 10:30 a.m. Monday, a staff member said.

The two restaurants are located in a new four-acre shopping center called Woodland Town Center. It’s across from the former Dean Stallings Ford.

Changes at Illinois and Turnpike include new traffic signals

October 10, 2012 By John Huotari 1 Comment

Cars driving east on Oak Ridge Turnpike could soon be required to stop before turning right onto South Illinois Avenue.

And those vehicles will no longer be able to use the short acceleration lane on South Illinois Avenue, a city press release said.

It’s part of a series of changes that include new traffic signals, pavement markings, and traffic control signs at that busy intersection.

City workers expect to start implementing the changes on Thursday, the city press release said. The new systems are meant to make the intersection safer for pedestrians, but they could be delayed due to bad weather.

For more information, contact the Oak Ridge Public Works Department at (865) 425-1875, City Engineer Steven R. Byrd at (865) 425-1807, or visit the city’s website at www.oakridgetn.gov.

Filed Under: Government Tagged With: Oak Ridge Turnpike, South Illinois Avenue, stop, traffic, traffic signals