Oak Ridge Today

Residents discuss Dollar General in Marlow

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Anderson County residents have expressed mixed opinions in government meetings about a reported proposal to build a Dollar General store next to Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow. The area is pictured above at Marlow Circle on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A handful of Anderson County residents have expressed mixed opinions in government meetings about a reported proposal to build a Dollar General store next to Oliver Springs Highway in Marlow, but the Anderson County Commission has voted 13-1 in favor of a rezoning that could allow it.

A few property owners and Anderson County Commissioner Jerry White, who represents Marlow, supported the project, saying, among other things, that it would be convenient for rural residents who need quick access to groceries and other items.

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Riverside Drive in Clinton closing for bridge replacement

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Visual of the location of the new bridge over the Clinch River connecting downtown Clinton to South Clinton. (Image via Clinton Mayor Scott Burton/Facebook)

Visual of the location of the new bridge over the Clinch River connecting downtown Clinton to South Clinton. (Image via Clinton Mayor Scott Burton/Facebook)

 

Blalock Construction has notified the City of Clinton that Riverside Drive will be closed between South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard (State Route 61) and Meadowbrook Street, beginning early Tuesday morning, September 18, a press release said.

For the next three years, motorists trying to reach the Riverside/Riverbend areas will need to use one of four alternate routes: Meadowbrook Street, Willow Street, Elm Street, or Redbud Drive, the press release said.

Attempting to make a left turn onto any of these four streets may present a challenge during afternoon hours, when school and work traffic is at its peak, the press release said. To help accommodate this, the City of Clinton is currently upgrading the traffic signal at Willow Street/Sunset Road, the release said. [Read more…]

One adult, teenage driver, two children injured in crash near Norris

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A 17-year-old driver was flown to a hospital by a medical helicopter after a two-vehicle crash near Norris on Wednesday morning, and an adult driver and two young children were taken to a hospital with serious and minor injuries, authorities said.

The head-on collision was reported at about 7:35 a.m. on State Route 61 at Bethel Road just east of Interstate 75, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The 17-year-old was driving west on SR 61 in a 1999 Mazda 4000 when the teenager crossed the center line around Bethel Road, the THP said. [Read more…]

Man dies, teen injured in Oliver Springs crash

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A 44-year-old man died and a teenager was injured in a two-vehicle crash in Oliver Springs on Sunday evening, authorities said.

Anthony M. Maston, who has an address listed in Oliver Springs, was driving north in a 2016 Kia sport utility vehicle on State Route 62 when he crossed the center line into the southbound lane and hit a southbound 2010 Nissan Altima car driven by a 17-year-old Oliver Springs girl, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a report.

Maston died due to the crash, which was reported at about 8:17 p.m. Sunday near the intersection with State Route 61, the THP said. He was not wearing a seat belt, the report said.

The 17-year-old driver of the second vehicle, the Nissan Altima car, was injured. She wasn’t wearing a seat belt either and neither was her 16-year-old passenger, the THP said. [Read more…]

Updated: Man killed in head-on collision on Andersonville Highway

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Note: This story was updated at 2 a.m. Dec. 4.

A Knoxville man died after a head-on collision on Andersonville Highway on Friday night, authorities said.

James D. Gunter, 56, was driving east on the highway, also known as State Route 61, in a 2006 Chevrolet Corvette at about 9:39 p.m. Friday when he crossed the yellow line to pass another vehicle and hit a 2006 Toyota 4Runner head-on in the westbound lane, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Gunter was killed, the THP said in a fatality report.

Gunter is suspected of drinking and drug use, according to the report. Alcohol and drug tests have been requested, which is routine in fatal crashes. [Read more…]

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

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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. [Read more…]

OS man faces charges after head-on collision injures three on Hwy 61

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Harriman-Highway-Crash-Jan-15-2016

An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon. (Photo by Tom Scott)

 

OLIVER SPRINGS—An Oliver Springs man is facing charges, including driving under the influence, after a head-on collision injured three people in two vehicles on Highway 61 west of Oliver Springs late Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Ryan P. Price, 33, of Oliver Springs, will be charged with DUI, vehicular assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm while under the influence, a due care violation, failure to maintain lane, violation of the financial responsibility law, and a failure to carry registration, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The THP said a 2003 Dodge Durango driven by Price was traveling east in the westbound lane on State Route 61 near Scandlyn Hollow Road in Roane County at about 4:55 p.m. Friday.

A 2014 Jeep Wrangler driven west by Rodger Mattox, 66, of Oliver Springs, was also in the westbound lane, which was its travel lane, the THP said. [Read more…]

Lane closures on I-75 due to bridge work at SR 61

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Information from WYSH Radio

Mid-State Construction has notified local officials that Interstate 75 under the State Route 61 bridge at exit 122 will be reduced to one lane in each direction, beginning Tuesday, September 8, at 8 p.m. until Wednesday, September 9, at 6 a.m.

This is part of the ongoing bridge repair project that has one lane in each direction on the bridge over the interstate down to one lane in each direction. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of October.

Reminder: Property transfer for airport to be discussed during info session today

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Oak Ridge Airport Development Plan

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above. The airport site is the area pictured in yellow. The main entrance to Heritage Center off Oak Ridge Turnpike is at bottom left, in the area of the ponds. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

 

About 170 acres of land at a federal site in west Oak Ridge could be transferred to a nonprofit organization for a new general aviation airport that would feature a 5,000-foot runway and accommodate airplanes and helicopters.

The airport would be built on the south side of Heritage Center, which is also known as East Tennessee Technology Park and the former K-25 site. The runway would be close to and run roughly parallel to Oak Ridge Turnpike/State Route 58.

A draft environmental assessment, or EA, has been prepared for the property transfer. It evaluates the potential impacts of transferring the ETTP land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the nonprofit Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. DOE and MKAA representatives will be available to discuss the proposed action during a public information session from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 19, at the DOE Information Center. The Information Center is on the west end of the building that houses the Office of Scientific and Technical Information in east Oak Ridge.

No formal presentation is planned, and the public may stop by at any time during the session. [Read more…]

Property transfer for Oak Ridge airport to be discussed during info session on Aug. 19

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Oak Ridge Airport Development Plan

The Heritage Center airport development plan is pictured above. The airport site is the area pictured in yellow. The main entrance to Heritage Center off Oak Ridge Turnpike is at bottom left, in the area of the ponds. (Cropped image from DOE Draft Environmental Assessment)

 

About 170 acres of land at a federal site in west Oak Ridge could be transferred to a nonprofit organization for a new general aviation airport that would feature a 5,000-foot runway and accommodate airplanes and helicopters.

The airport would be built on the south side of Heritage Center, which is also known as East Tennessee Technology Park and the former K-25 site. The runway would be close to and run roughly parallel to Oak Ridge Turnpike/State Route 58.

A draft environmental assessment, or EA, has been prepared for the property transfer. It evaluates the potential impacts of transferring the ETTP land from the U.S. Department of Energy to the nonprofit Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. DOE and MKAA representatives will be available to discuss the proposed action during a public information session from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 19, at the DOE Information Center. The Information Center is on the west end of the building that houses the Office of Scientific and Technical Information in east Oak Ridge.

No formal presentation is planned, and the public may stop by at any time during the session. [Read more…]

TDOT: Long-term lane closures on SR 61 at I-75 start Wednesday

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The long-term lane closures on State Route 61 at Interstate 75 are scheduled to start Wednesday, July 22, officials said.

One lane will be closed in both directions for bridge repairs, the Tennessee Department of Transportation announced on Twitter.

This is the bridge that crosses over I-75 in east Clinton on the way to the Museum of Appalachia and Norris. [Read more…]

Gas sells for less than $2 per gallon in Clinton, Anderson County

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Git 'N Go Gas Station in Clinton

Gas was selling for $1.98 per gallon at several stations near Interstate 75 on State Route 61 in Clinton on Thursday, including at this Git ‘N Go Market, right, and at a BP station, left, across the street.

 

Gas was selling for less than $2 per gallon at several gas stations in Clinton and Anderson County on Thursday.

At least three gas stations near Interstate 75 and State Route 61 in Clinton were selling regular unleaded gasoline for $1.98 per gallon. Several other gas stations in Anderson County along SR 61, which turns into Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge, were also selling fuel for $1.98. [Read more…]