• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

Council to consider supporting OS request to have state widen SR 61

Posted at 12:43 am March 8, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider supporting an Oliver Springs request to ask the state to widen nine miles of State Route 61 between Oliver Springs and Harriman, where 114 crashes—some of them fatal—were reported between February 2013 and December 2016.

In a January 24 email, Oliver Springs Mayor Cecil E. Crowe told several city and county mayors that Oliver Springs has asked that State Route 61, which is two lanes, be widened to four.

“This highway project has been discussed for a number of years, but it has lacked the support necessary to get it approved,” Crowe told Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, and Roane County Executive Ron Woody. “We need your support to increase the priority of this highway project to reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.”

The improvement could boost both the economies in Oak Ridge and Oliver Springs, as well as in Harriman and Anderson, Morgan, and Roane counties, according to Crowe and the Oliver Springs resolution.

That resolution said the highway is used by thousands of motorists commuting to and from work each day. Crowe said the last highway count in 2015 reported 5,375 vehicles per day on Highway 61.

Of the 114 crashes between February 2013 and December 2016, at least 33 resulted in injuries, according to the Oliver Springs resolution.

The highway widening request is being made to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

“It is possible to travel from Chattanooga to Clinton, Tennessee, on a four-lane highway, with the exception of this nine-mile stretch,” the Oliver Springs resolution said. “The Town of Oliver Springs requests the State of Tennessee Department of Transportation consider this project for the safety of the residents of Roane and Anderson counties, as well as the thousands that travel that road daily.”

The Monday night City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. See the agenda here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Cecil E. Crowe, Harriman, Oak Ridge City Council, Oliver Springs, Ron Woody, SR 61, State Route 61, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Terry Frank, Warren Gooch

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • ORAU and American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation formalize partnership to advance Manhattan Project 2.0
  • Author and Law Professor Derek W. Black to Speak on Public Education and Democracy
  • Anderson County Chamber Headquarters Dedication Set for October 17
  • ORISE announces winners of 2025 Future of Science Awards
  • SL Tennessee Supports New Anderson County Chamber Headquarters
  • ORAU 2025 Pollard Scholarship recipients announced
  • Democratic Women’s Club Hosts State Rep. Sam McKenzie
  • Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival Announces 2025 Storytellers
  • Laser-Engraved Bricks Will Line Walkway of New Chamber Headquarters
  • Democratic Women’s Club to Discuss Climate Change, Energy and Policy

Search Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2025 Oak Ridge Today