Oak Ridge Today



Photos: Clinch River bridge work in Clinton

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Work is under way on the bridge to replace the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River on Clinch Avenue between downtown Clinton and South Clinton. The work is pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Work is under way on the bridge to replace the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River on Clinch Avenue between downtown Clinton and South Clinton. The work is pictured above on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work has started on the replacement of the Honorable William Everette Lewallen Bridge over the Clinch River in downtown Clinton. Here are photos of the work, which could last three years, on Tuesday.

In August, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported that the contract to replace the bridge on Highway 25W/State Route 9 (Clinton Highway/Clinch Avenue) was awarded on August 17 to Charles Blalock and Sons Incorporated of Sevierville. Their bid for the replacement of the bridge, known to locals as the “green bridge,” came in at $27,735,269.72, WYSH said.

The bridge connects downtown Clinton to south Clinton. [Read more…]

WYSH: Clinton bridge replacement contract awarded

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton is pictured above in December 2013. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

WYSH Radio has reported that the contract to replace the Lewallen Bridge on Highway 25W/State Route 9 (Clinton Highway/Clinch Avenue) over the Clinch River near downtown Clinton was awarded on August 17 to Charles Blalock and Sons Incorporated of Sevierville. Their bid for the replacement of the bridge, known to locals as the “green bridge,” came in at $27,735,269.72.

The bridge connects downtown Clinton and north Clinton to south Clinton.

The aging bridge is due for replacement, according to the state, and while it is still considered safe, the replacement will address looming concerns regarding the structure due to its age. [Read more…]

WYSH: TDOT gives Clinton an update on ‘green bridge’ replacement

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue is pictured above near downtown Clinton in this file photo from December 2013.

 

Information from WYSH Radio

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck gave WYSH Radio in Clinton an update on Wednesday morning on the project to replace the green bridge that connects South Clinton and Clinton on Highway 25W, also known as Clinton Highway and Clinch Avenue. The bridge is currently structurally sound and safe, but the Tennessee Department of Transportation said that could change over the next few years, hence the replacement project.

Houck said that TDOT had earlier indicated that they would put the project out for bids in the second quarter of this year with construction slated to begin in the third quarter, but the city was recently informed that the timetable has been moved back some, with bids expected to be be sought in the third quarter. Construction on the approximately $21 million project could begin late this year or, more likely, early next year. [Read more…]

Public meeting on Thursday on proposed Clinton Highway improvements

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Clinton Highway 10-Year Crash Map

A 10-year crash map shows 10 fatal crashes in 10 years in a 2.6-mile section of Clinton Highway between Edgemoor Road and the Anderson County-Knox County line. (Map by TDOT)

 

Oak Ridge Today/WYSH Radio

There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on Thursday on proposed improvements to a 2.6-mile stretch of Clinton Highway from Edgemoor Road to the Knox County line, where 10 people have died in crashes in the past decade.

Comments will be documented and transmitted to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, August 11, in Room 312 at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

During a public meeting in July, TDOT presented its proposal to resurface and realign a 2.6-mile stretch of Clinton Highway—Highway 25W—from Edgemoor Road to the Knox County line. TDOT said it developed the proposal after reviewing crash data that showed that between 2006 and last year, 10 fatal accidents and 11 others involving serious injuries have occurred on that stretch of highway. That section of roadway includes a hilly, curvy area with no median or center lane. The roadway shoulders are limited in some spots, the speed limit is 50 mph, and there are several areas with no buffers between traffic traveling north and south, meaning vehicles move past each other around curves while moving in opposite directions. [Read more…]

Photo: Officials celebrate legislation allowing ATVs on US 25W in Rocky Top

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Rocky Top Ribbon-Cutting for ATVs July 1 2016

Officials in Rocky Top and Anderson County, along with Tennessee legislators, had a ribbon-cutting to celebrate legislation that allows all-terrain vehicles to ride on Highway 25W starting Friday, July 1, 2016. (Photo by Jerry Creasey)

 

Officials in Rocky Top and Anderson County and Tennessee legislators had a ribbon-cutting on Friday, July 1, to celebrate legislation that allows all-terrain vehicles to ride on Highway 25W, or US 25W, starting this month.

The celebration included officials from the City of Rocky Top, Rocky Top Chamber of Commerce, and Anderson County Tourism Council.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to amend state law to allow for all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, to ride on Highway 25W in Rocky Top from the intersection of Colonial Lane to the intersection at Jacksboro Avenue beginning July 1, a press release said.

“Current legislation (before July 1) allows for ATVs to be operated on State Route 116 from Beech Grove to Highway 25,” said Mike Lovely, Rocky Top mayor. “This amendment extends the riding area and allows riders from Windrock Park to access the commerce area of Rocky Top.” [Read more…]

Officials to celebrate legislation allowing ATVs on Highway 25W in Rocky Top

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City of Rocky Top Seal

Officials in Rocky Top and Anderson County will have a ribbon-cutting on Friday, July 1, to celebrate recent legislation that allows all-terrain vehicles to ride on Highway 25W starting this summer.

The celebration will include officials from the City of Rocky Top, Rocky Top Chamber of Commerce, and Anderson County Tourism Council. The ribbon-cutting is scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday, July 1, at the “Welcome to Rocky Top City” sign located between the southbound exit ramp of Exit 129 off of Interstate 75 and the Colonial Road in front of KFC and Cracker Barrel.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to amend current law that would allow for all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, to ride on Highway 25W in Rocky Top from the intersection of Colonial Lane to the intersection at Jacksboro Avenue beginning July 1, a press release said.

“Current legislation allows for ATVs to be operated on State Route 116 from Beech Grove to Highway 25,” said Mike Lovely, Rocky Top mayor. “This amendment extends the riding area and allows riders from Windrock Park to access the commerce area of Rocky Top.” [Read more…]

Traffic backed up for miles on I-75 after shutdown for fiery crash

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Lifestar on I-75 Vasper Bridge

This picture by Charlotte Underwood is looking straight at the Vasper Bridge on I-75, near the 132 mile marker. The crash site is a bit north of the bridge on the southbound side of I-75, which is a couple of miles south of Caryville’s exit 134. (Photo and information courtesy Charlotte Underwood/1450 WLAF Radio and WLAF-TV 12)

 

A fiery fatal crash that shut down Interstate 75 in Campbell County on Wednesday afternoon has led to miles of backups heading north out of Knoxville and south from Kentucky.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation reports that traffic coming out of Knoxville on northbound Interstate 75 is backed up more than 7.5 miles from exit 129 at Lake City in Anderson County. Information on detours is available by calling 5-1-1.

Meanwhile, southbound traffic on I-75 coming out of Kentucky is backed up more than five miles from exit 134 at Caryville in Campbell County, TDOT said.

TDOT estimated the highway could be clear by 9 p.m. See TDOT’s Twitter feed here. You can also visit TDOT’s Smartmap for more information. [Read more…]

US 25 yard sale under way, passes through Anderson County

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The US 25 Yard Sale started Thursday and ends Saturday. It’s 425 miles of sales beginning in Covington, Ky., running through Anderson County and ending in Woodfin, N.C.. There are 42 communities participating along the route.

Buyers can make a complete circle through East Tennessee. In Corbin, Highway 25 splits into Highway 25W, which runs through Anderson County, and Highway 25E, which goes through Jefferson County, another participating community. They merge back together in Newport, Tenn.

If you live on US 25W in Anderson County, all you have to do to participate is set up your yard sale on your property.

If you do not live on US 25W and you would like to set up for the yard sale, you can go to the Lake City Recreation Center/Ball Field. There will be a set up fee of $10 per 10’ x 10’ space, and the covered area will be $20 per bay area. [Read more…]

TDOT: Lewallen Bridge in Clinton slated for replacement

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Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

Pictured above is the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue near downtown Clinton.

Information from WYSH Radio

The Tennessee Department of Transportation will be replacing the Lewallen Bridge—known as “the green bridge” to locals—that connects Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W within the next couple of years.

Clinton city officials met last Friday with TDOT representatives to learn more about the project and its tentative schedule. TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi in an email said that the new bridge will be realigned to the park side of the bridge, which is upstream from the current bridge, so that the state can avoid “the costly acquisition of several homes” downstream of the bridge in the other side. [Read more…]

Knox teen killed in Anderson County wreck, charges pending against driver

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Information from WYSH Radio

A 19-year-old Knoxville woman was killed in a single-vehicle accident early Tuesday morning in Anderson County, and now the driver of the car she was riding in is facing charges.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that Justin Seeber, 23, of Clinton had been driving a 2006 Jaguar XT3 sedan north on Highway 25W shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday with three passengers when the accident occurred. The THP report indicates that Seeber’s car veered off the roadway and hit a ditch before re-entering the road and coming to rest. [Read more…]

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