Oak Ridge Today

Flooding, fallen trees, road closures reported in Anderson County during storms

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department had a busy weekend after the rain started on Friday, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas said.

Flooding occurred throughout the county, Lucas said. There were trees that had fallen on homes but no reports of injuries. High water forced the closure of several roads. Many of those were still closed Monday morning.

“The water is receding, but drivers are urged to continue to use caution,” Lucas said. “Due to all of the flooded roads, Anderson County Schools were closed today (Monday, April 24).”

Deputies responded to 25 traffic hazard reports from Friday through Sunday. These included fallen trees and other debris in the roadway. Mudslides were also reported on at least two roads, Lucas said. [Read more…]

Anderson, Roane schools closed Monday; Briceville Highway closed due to ‘slide issues’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

State Route 116 in Anderson County, also known as Briceville Highway, is closed at Hawkins Road due to “slide issues,” the Tennessee Department of Transportation said Sunday. Also Sunday, Anderson County Schools and Roane County Schools both announced they will be closed Monday.

TDOT said traffic on Briceville Highway is being diverted to county roads.

“Use caution in this area,” TDOT said.

Hawkins Road is southwest of Rocky Top (the former Lake City) and northeast of Briceville.

Briceville Highway had earlier been reported to be closed in Briceville due to sinking pavement on Sunday afternoon. [Read more…]

Trees fall, roads flood, driver escapes floodwaters as rains continue

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Airport-Road-Flooding-Oliver-Springs-Storms-April-22-2017

The driver was reported to have made it out of floodwaters before emergency responders arrived on Saturday afternoon, April 22, 2017, but her black Nissan Altima remained partially submerged on Airport Road near Oliver Springs on Sunday. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 8 p.m.

Roads flooded and trees fell—sometimes on homes, power lines, and roads—as rain continued to fall in East Tennessee on Sunday. One driver was reported to have escaped from her car in floodwaters on Airport Road near Oliver Springs on Saturday afternoon, but the black Nissan Altima remained partially submerged in the water on Sunday.

There appeared to have been at least 10 reports of fallen trees in Oak Ridge during the severe thunderstorms that started Saturday afternoon and continued with rain showers on Sunday. Most of those trees were reported to have fallen on homes, power lines, across roadways, or on personal property such as an automobile. There were five reports of fallen trees between about 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday, including a tree that fell across both lanes of Melton Lake Drive near Calhoun’s restaurant, causing a temporary closure of that two-lane road.

There were more reports of trees that had fallen but not damaged anything.

Large trees are falling due to excess rain, the City of Oak Ridge said Sunday. Electric crews have been out all night, and backup is on the way, the city said, but it may be tomorrow (Monday, April 24) before all power is back.

At various times on Sunday, there were reports of flooding or flood watches across Oak Ridge, including on Vermont Avenue, near Heritage Center (the former K-25 site), on California Avenue, and at Jefferson Avenue and North Jefferson Circle.

There were also reports of trees down and road closures in Clinton. Briceville Highway was reported to be closed in Briceveille due to sinking pavement on Sunday afternoon. Earlier Sunday, State Route 71 in Anderson County was closed for several hours at Norris Dam State Park because trees were blocking the road, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Some school districts have announced they will be closed Monday. Roane County Schools said it will be closed due to “concerning road conditions throughout the county.” Anderson County Schools said it will be closed because of dangerous conditions with flooded roads and trees being down.

The National Weather Service in Morristown said a record for daily rainfall was set at Knoxville Mcghee Tyson Airport on Sunday. The NWS said 1.89 inches had fallen as of 5 p.m. Sunday, breaking the old record of 1.63 inches in 1977.

[Read more…]

Construction on Oak Ridge Airport could start late next year, early 2019

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Image via Billy Stair presentation at Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority General Aviation Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

Image via Billy Stair presentation at Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority General Aviation Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 2 a.m.

There are additional steps and approvals required, but if all goes well, construction on the Oak Ridge Airport on the west end of town could start in late 2018 or early 2019, officials said Wednesday.

The airport could still cost an estimated $35 million to $40 million, officials said. It would be funded with a mix of federal funding, state aeronautical commission funding, and local funding from the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, or MKAA.

On Wednesday, the MKAA General Aviation Committee approved an airport layout plan during a meeting at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa. The plan will now be sent to the Federal Aviation Administration for review and approval.

“It’s a very important step for us,” said Bill Marrison, president of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. [Read more…]

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

Posted at
By 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. [Read more…]

Clinton Council to get update on project to replace Lewallen Bridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update Monday evening, Jan. 23, 2017, from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Hon. William Everette Lewallen Memorial Bridge on Clinch Avenue. The bridge over the Clinch River connects downtown Clinton and South Clinton on Highway 25W. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

The Clinton City Council is scheduled to receive an update tonight from City Manager Roger Houck on the status of the state project to replace the Lewallen Bridge connecting South Clinton and downtown Clinton on Highway 25W.

According to the city manager’s report included in the agenda for this evening’s meeting, Houck recently met with Tennessee Department of Transportation officials, who informed him that the project is still on schedule and that the design phase is nearing completion. Houck reported that TDOT has incorporated the various requests made by the city to be included in the design, such as lighting and bike lanes.

A plans review meeting is also set for next month, at which time city leaders could learn more about the expected timetable for the bridge project. [Read more…]

Weather cancellations, closings at schools, sporting events

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Snow was falling in Oak Ridge at noon Friday, and more was expected through Saturday morning. Schools and government offices have announced closures and early dismissals, and sporting events have been canceled.

Oak Ridge Schools said it has staff closely monitoring the weather and the roads. If a decision is made to dismiss early, a notification will be posted on Twitter and through Skylert.

The Oak Ridge-Halls basketball games scheduled for Friday night at Wildcat Arena have been canceled and rescheduled for Monday, January 23. [Read more…]

Thanksgiving Traffic Safety: Buckle up every time, authorities say

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

buckle-up-every-trip-every-time

Submitted

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and more people on the road increases the likelihood of a crash and, perhaps, a fatality. These deaths represent needless tragedies for families all across America. But even more tragic is that many of these fatalities could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.

Before you hit the road this Thanksgiving: “Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.”

The national “Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.” seat belt awareness campaign helps remind Thanksgiving travelers and all drivers about the importance of buckling up—every trip—every time.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department is joining in a national effort to send Thanksgiving travelers an important lifesaving reminder to “Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.” Sheriff’s deputies will be out this Thanksgiving holiday to keep the roads and highways safe. [Read more…]

Public safety meeting on Nov. 10 to discuss pedestrian safety improvements on Turnpike

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-South-Tulane-Dec-10-2015

A $433,000 grant awarded to the City of Oak Ridge would be used to make traffic signal and pedestrian improvements at two intersections on Oak Ridge Turnpike, including at South Tulane Avenue. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

There will be a public meeting in November to discuss pedestrian safety improvements on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, November 10, at the Central Services Complex at 100 Woodbury Lane (behind the Hobby Lobby/Kmart shopping center). The meeting will include a project overview and public input session, a City of Oak Ridge press release said.

The pedestrian safety improvements are being designed for Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Route 95) at Tulane Avenue and East Division/Tennyson roads.

“These upgrades are necessary to improve accessibility and provide a safe transportation link for people in the area,” the press release said.

The press release said the intersection improvements will include: [Read more…]

THP investigates fatal crash on Clinton Highway near Anderson-Knox county line

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

anderson-county-sheriffs-department-clinton-highway-sept-30-2016

A short section of Clinton Highway was closed at Mehaffey Road going into Knox County on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 as the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated a fatal crash. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 5:40 p.m.

Clinton Highway was shut down in both directions near the Anderson-Knox county line on Friday afternoon as the Tennessee Highway Patrol investigated a fatal crash, authorities said.

The road will be closed “until further notice,” the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department said early Friday afternoon. “Please avoid this area.”

It’s a multi-vehicle crash, said Mark Nagi of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. [Read more…]

Anderson County Commission meets Monday (today)

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

The Anderson County Commission will meet Monday, September 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 312 of the Courthouse in Clinton.

Among the items on the agenda will be the election of a chair, vice chair, and parliamentarian.

Commissioners could head into executive session during the meeting as Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager’s report to the Commission indicated that a settlement offer has been made in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Public Works Department employee Lisa Crumpley, who sued the county alleging that she had been fired in retaliation for cooperating with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on an investigation into her former boss David Crowley. Crowley was indicted last October on charges of illegally inspecting buildings without the proper certification, and he fired Crumpley the day the indictment was unsealed. He was ultimately acquitted in the spring by a jury. No details of that potential settlement have been made public, but it will require Commission approval. [Read more…]

Eight injured in motorcycle, car-semi crashes on I-75 in Anderson County

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ut-lifestar-helicopters-on-i-75-in-anderson-county-sept-20-2016-2

The UT Lifestar II helicopter and Lifestar IV helicopter are pictured at top right and bottom left on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, Sept. 10, 2016, after one crash involving four motorcycles and another involving a semi and two other vehicles were reported. Authorities said eight people were injured in the two crashes. (Photo courtesy UT Lifestar)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:10 p.m. Sept. 11.

Six people were injured in one crash involving four motorcycles and two more were injured in a second crash involving two vehicles and a semi on Interstate 75 in Anderson County on Saturday morning, authorities said.

The two crashes occurred about 30 minutes apart in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 127, near Rocky Top (the former Lake City).

Two University of Tennessee Lifestar medical helicopters responded, and all four lanes were temporarily closed.

The first crash was reported at about 10:16 a.m, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol preliminary crash report.

Four Harley Davidson motorcycles were traveling north in one lane of I-75 at mile marker 127 when the first motorcycle, a 2003 model driven by George Suver, 70, left the right shoulder and then swerved back into the lane, the THP said. [Read more…]