A historical walk through Jackson Square with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park has been rescheduled to February 10 due to the winter weather in January.
The walk with the National Park Service is titled “Building America’s Secret City: Ranger Walk Through Jackson Square.” It is now scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, February 10.
“Explore what it took to shape the farms and mud of East Tennessee into the Atomic City,” an event notice said.
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Oak Ridge Schools will be closed again on Monday due to unsafe road conditions, and City of Oak Ridge offices will open three hours late.
The schools were closed four days after the holiday last week due to the winter weather, as were many other schools, offices, and businesses. Some roads were also briefly closed. The winter weather has included more than eight inches of snow, freezing temperatures, below-zero wind chills, and slippery roads and sidewalks.
On Sunday, the Oak Ridge Police Department and City of Oak Ridge said many roadways were still very icy despite being treated and plowed.
“Conditions are expected to worsen once the sun goes down,” they said. “Stay home, if possible.”
The schools said temperatures are projected to warm on Monday.
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Freezing rain Thursday night affected roads in the region, and crashes, road closures, and icy roads were reported.
The Oak Ridge Police Department said the rain had turned most roads to ice.
“We advise that you do not travel as conditions may worsen throughout the night,” the ORPD said about 10 p.m. Thursday.
Friday morning, the department said police officers had responded to several weather-related crashes.
“The roads have had minor improvements,” the ORPD said. “However, there are still a large amount of troubled areas.”
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The Tennessee Valley Authority said heavy snow and bitter cold temperatures are creating record-high demand for electricity across the Southeast.
“As a result, the Tennessee Valley Authority is asking customers to be aware of their power consumption, specifically between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. (Central Time) on Wednesday,” a press release said.
“TVA is actively monitoring weather conditions, and our power system remains stable,” the press release said. “Conservation requests are often used in the power industry to help lower demand during a specific time and does not indicate TVA is experiencing emergency conditions. If you are experiencing an outage, please check with your local electric provider for more information.”
[Read more…]City of Oak Ridge offices and facilities, Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Anderson County Courthouse will be closed Wednesday due to winter weather.
Only essential personnel are to report in the City of Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge City Council work session scheduled for Tuesday night was canceled.
In Anderson County, crews have been working around the clock, but side roads are still in bad condition as are parking areas.
“The temperatures are expected to be very low tonight, and the main roads that are currently passable will most likely be ice in the early morning hours,” a press release said.
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Oak Ridge crews are working to clear roads and repair water line breaks.
The Oak Ridge Public Works Department worked through the night to clear main roads, according to the city government. Melton Lake Drive and South Illinois Avenue are back open.
The department will begin to plow side streets once main roads are good for driving, the city said.
“While every city street was brined or treated before the storm, it was no match for this amount of snow combined with continued low temperatures,” the city said.
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The Anderson County Courthouse is closed Tuesday due to winter weather.
Anderson County was under a winter storm warning until Tuesday morning, with more snow expected Monday night, a press release said. With lows tonight expected to be 14 degrees Monday night, and a high on Tuesday expected at 25 degrees, “the snow and ice will create unsafe for conditions for citizens and county employees,” the press release said.
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Randy Hemann, the new Oak Ridge city manager, had been scheduled to deliver the annual “State of the City of Oak Ridge” to the League of Women Voters on Tuesday, but the presentation has been canceled due to the winter weather, which has included heavy snow, cold temperatures, and hazardous road conditions.
The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge said it hopes Hemann can deliver the presentation another time, but a new date hasn’t been announced yet.
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City of Oak Ridge offices and facilities and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be closed Tuesday due to winter weather.
The city said only essential employees are expected to report to work. The Oak Ridge City Council work session scheduled for Tuesday will be postponed and a new date published later.
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Roads, schools, and businesses closed as snow fell for hours in Oak Ridge. The snow began about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, and snow continued to fall at about 6 p.m. Monday.
Oak Ridge Today measured almost seven inches of snow at about 5 p.m. Monday. The National Weather Service in Morristown had forecast between four to six and six to eight inches of snow in the Oak Ridge and Clinton areas.
“Very cold air is moving in across the region with sub-freezing temperatures continuing through Thursday,” the National Weather Service said. “Temperatures Tuesday night will be around zero!”
Roads, even main streets like Oak Ridge Turnpike, had a thick layer of snow on them, with a wet, slippery surface underneath. Traffic was light when normally it would be heavy, and most drivers drove slowly and cautiously, with some turning on their hazard lights.
“With significant snow accumulations across much of the area and very cold temperatures, hazardous travel conditions may develop,” the NWS said. “Avoid travel, but if you must, use caution.”
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a construction permit for a test reactor at Heritage Center industrial park in west Oak Ridge. The NRC decision was announced Tuesday, and construction could start next year.
The 35-megawatt thermal Hermes demonstration reactor would be built by Kairos Power, which has headquarters in Alameda, California, and a Tennessee operation in Oak Ridge.
Hermes would use molten salt to cool its reactor core. It would not generate electricity. Instead, it would provide operational data to support the development of a larger version for commercial power, the NRC said.
“A critical step on Kairos Power’s iterative pathway to commercializing its advanced reactor technology, the Hermes reactor will demonstrate the company’s ability to deliver clean, safe, and affordable nuclear heat,” the company said in a press release.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority has retired the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.
The plant burned the last of its onsite coal onsite in August, ending a 48-day run. TVA retired the plant December 1.
The TVA Board of Directors approved the retirement of Bull Run on February 14, 2019. That followed an environmental review process that included public input, TVA said.
Bull Run began operating in 1967. At the time it was the largest in the world in the volume of steam produced, according to TVA. Located on 750 acres in Claxton across from Oak Ridge, it was the only single-unit power plant in the TVA system, and it was designed to produce up to 950 megawatts. It has an 800-foot reinforced concrete chimney.
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