Oak Ridge Today

Lifestar responds to head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a two-vehicle head-on crash on Scarboro Road near the Y-12 National Security Complex and Commerce Park on Monday evening, Dec. 4, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopter responded to a head-on two-car crash on Scarboro Road on Monday evening.

The crash was reported at about 6 p.m. Monday, just up the hill from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex and near Commerce Park.

One driver was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by the UT Lifestar helicopter, which landed at Y-12. The other driver refused treatment, authorities said. [Read more…]

Updated: South Illinois re-opens after crews clean up diesel from truck crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

South Illinois Avenue remained closed early Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, after about 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto the road following a crash involving a dump truck and two vehicles at Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

South Illinois Avenue remained closed early Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, after about 100 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto the road following a crash involving a dump truck and two vehicles at Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 2:40 p.m.

South Illinois Avenue re-opened Friday afternoon after being closed for about six hours to clean up about 100 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled onto the road following a crash involving a dump truck and two vehicles at Lafayette Drive/Scarboro Road in south Oak Ridge.

The fuel was spread out over about 100 yards, or roughly the length of a football field.

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department dumped sand to contain the fuel, which was spread across the five-lane roadway, and city workers and equipment, including from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, helped sweep it up with help from several vehicles, including a sweeper.

An environmental cleanup company was responding to help with the cleanup and dispose of the waste, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 7:55 a.m. Friday. The Oak Ridge Police Department, which investigated the crash, announced that the road had re-opened at 1:47 p.m. [Read more…]

Small quantity of explosives, used for training, reported missing

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A submitted photo of the item reported missing. The cell phone in the photo is for a size reference only; there was no cell phone with the substance In the cotton bag.

A submitted photo of the item reported missing. The cell phone in the photo is for size reference only; there was no cell phone with the substance in the cotton bag.

 

K-9 Search On Site LLP has reported missing a small quantity of explosives within the City of Oak Ridge. The substance, which is used for training purposes, is believed to have been lost during transportation in the vicinity of Scarboro Road between Bethel Valley and Illinois Avenue, a press release said. The substance is contained in a small cotton bag.

The training substance was discovered missing on Friday, March 10. The Oak Ridge Police Department and other federal authorities were notified Friday evening and searches are under way, the press release said.

Members of the public are urged to contact the Oak Ridge Police Department at (865) 425-3605 or 425-4399 if a suspicious object is found in this area. Residents are warned to not handle the training substance, but to promptly report its discovery to the Oak Ridge Police Department, the press release said.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Driver okay, but car totaled in single-vehicle rollover crash on Scarboro Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Scarboro-Road-Car-Roll-over-Dec-14-2015

The driver was okay, but his vehicle was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon.

The crash occurred up the hill from Union Valley Road and the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex. Authorities reported that the roadway was slick.

The Oak Ridge Police Department briefly closed the road while the crash was investigated and the car towed away.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Scarboro-Road-Car-Roll-over-Police-Fire-Dec-14-2015

The driver was reported to be okay, but his Honda Civic was reported to be totaled when it rolled over in a single-vehicle crash on Scarboro Road on Monday afternoon, Dec. 14, 2015. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Copyright 2015 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Knoxville man dies after pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville, was driving westbound in this green Chevy S10 pickup truck on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 27, 2015, when he lost control and collided with an eastbound Ford Ranger pickup. He was treated at the scene and taken to UT Medical Center, where he later died. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m. Oct. 29.

A Knoxville man died after he was ejected from his pickup truck in a multi-vehicle crash on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the driver as Victor Gujmuit, 25, of Knoxville.

The ORPD said Gujmuit was driving west on Bethel Valley Road in a 1997 Chevrolet S10 pickup when he lost control and entered the inside eastbound lane of the four-lane roadway. His truck collided with a 1996 Ford Ranger pickup driven by Kurt Marcotte, 52, of Knoxville. Gujmuit was ejected onto the roadway in the outside eastbound lane and hit by a 2003 Dodge pickup truck driven by Raymond Lenoir, 57, of Powell, authorities said.

Gujmuit and Marcotte were treated at the scene and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where Gujmuit later died, the ORPD said. Police have not determined the cause of his death. [Read more…]

Two injured, roadway closed after two-pickup crash on Bethel Valley Road

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bethel Valley Road Crash Chevy Oct. 27, 2015

A green Chevy S10 pickup truck was involved in a two-vehicle crash with injuries on Bethel Valley Road between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 7:10 p.m.

Two people were taken by ambulance to the hospital after two pickup trucks crashed on Bethel Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Preliminary reports said one person was trapped and one was ejected. But the nature of their injuries weren’t immediately clear.

Authorities said the road could be closed several hours between Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue as officers investigate and reconstruct the crash Tuesday evening.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear. It also wasn’t clear which direction the two pickup trucks were traveling when they collided. One pickup was a green Chevy S10 and the other was a blue Ford Ranger. [Read more…]

Y-12 reopens after man drives through gate, crashes into parking lot

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo)

 

Officials at the Y-12 National Security Complex have reopened the plant to employees following a temporary closure early Thursday morning after a person drove through the east gate of Y-12 at Scarboro Road and crashed his vehicle near a parking lot area.

The crash occurred at about 5:52 a.m. Thursday.

Y-12 security police officers responded and subsequently apprehended the man, who was then arrested by the Oak Ridge Police Department, a press release said. [Read more…]

Workers building sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road

Posted at
By 19 Comments

Emory Valley Road Sewer System Holding Tanks

Workers assemble a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road and Fairbanks Road on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Workers have been assembling a sewer system holding tank near Emory Valley Road and Fairbanks Road. It’s one of three tanks that will help Oak Ridge comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order that requires the city to end all sewer system overflows by September 2015.

The Emory Valley Road tank is on a roughly one-acre tract on the east side of the former Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center. The other two tanks will be built near the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road, just down the street from the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex, and in an isolated, industrial area off Cairo Road in east Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved the locations for the three tanks, officially known as equalization basins, in September 2013. The Anderson County Commission agreed to donate a small parcel of land for the Emory Valley Road tank. And the City Council agreed in December 2013 to buy a car wash owned by businessman Terry Mulllins for $125,000 and replace it with the tank at Scarboro Road and South Illinois Avenue as part of a plan to move that equalization basin farther back from the road. [Read more…]

Y-12 prepared for possible Ferguson-related protests, but none reported

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 Prepares Ferguson Protest Preparations

The Y-12 National Security Complex and City of Oak Ridge prepared for possible protests related to the announcement of the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday night. Y-12 had appeared on a list of possible Ferguson-related demonstration sites, but there didn’t appear to have been any protests at Y-12 as of Tuesday afternoon.

 

The Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge and regional law enforcement agencies had prepared for possible protests at Y-12 on Monday, when the grand jury decision was announced in Ferguson, Missouri, but there didn’t appear to have been any protests at the Oak Ridge plant as of Tuesday afternoon.

Y-12 had appeared among a list of demonstration sites on the Ferguson National Response Network Web page. The Y-12 protest was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, the day of the grand jury announcement, and demonstrators were asked to bring cell phones, cameras, signs, and megaphones.

But there didn’t appear to be anyone near the Scarboro road entrance to Y-12 at about 6:30 p.m. Monday or later at about 9:30 p.m. Scarboro Road was hemmed in on one side by Y-12’s temporary fence and on the other by City of Oak Ridge traffic barrels, cones, and police tape. Temporary barricades were erected to block Y-12’s entrances, and concrete barriers inside the main entrance appeared to have been angled in the roadway to deter or slow down unwanted visitors. [Read more…]

ORHPA celebrates 15th anniversary at Scarboro Road gatehouse

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bobbie Martin at Oak Ridge City Council

Bobbie Martin, one of the people who helped start the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association 15 years ago this month, accepts the keys to the Midtown Community Center, which includes the historic “Wildcat Den.” This was the culmination of close to two years of work that began with a newspaper article Bobbie wrote and the contact by Mick Wiest that brought the two of them and several others together in September 1999 and to ultimately to form ORHPA. (Submitted photos)

 

The Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association will celebrate its 15th anniversary during a Thursday night meeting at the “Midway Gatehouse” on Scarboro Road. That’s the location of the group’s original meeting.

The anniversary meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, September 11. Parking is limited there. Organizers said those attending should consider parking at the nearby Y-12 Federal Credit Union and carpooling from there, or they could carpool with friends from the Midtown Community Center parking lot.

“Come by the Gatehouse anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to enjoy refreshments, see displays, and view the historic building and its artifacts, as well as help celebrate 15 years as an organization,” a press release said.

Here is the story of how the ORHPA began: [Read more…]

South Illinois to be closed Saturday night as railroad tracks removed

Posted at
By 5 Comments

South Illinois Avenue Railroad Crossing

A section of South Illinois Avenue will be closed Saturday night as a city contractor removes the abandoned railroad tracks that cross the busy roadway just south of the intersection with Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road.

 

A section of South Illinois Avenue will be closed Saturday night as a city contractor removes the abandoned railroad tracks that cross the busy roadway just south of the intersection with Lafayette Drive and Scarboro Road.

The work by Rogers Group Inc. should be complete by Sunday, a city press release said.

Workers will start installing traffic control devices to close the road and divert traffic to the detour at about 6 p.m. Saturday. The road, also known as State Route 62, or SR62, will be closed at roughly 8 p.m., the press release said.

“To minimize the inconvenience to the public, this work will take place overnight,” it said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge installs sewer line on Scarboro Road through June 1

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

City of Oak Ridge Seal

The Oak Ridge Public Works Department will begin sewer line installation on Scarboro Road beginning May 2 and continuing through June 1, a press release said. The installation will be from Bethel Valley north to the crest of Scarboro. Crews will be working on Fridays through Sundays for the next five weeks.

The work will require sections of the road to be down to one lane of traffic for those days from approximately 6:30 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m. Signage and flaggers will guide traffic through the affected areas.

Questions or comments can be directed to the Oak Ridge Public Works Department at (865) 425-1875.