Workers hit the roads to clear ice and snow
The winter weather at the beginning of this week led to issues with roads and other government operations throughout the county.
Heavy snowfall that began wreaking havoc with the roads Monday morning continued all day and into the night, making roads even more treacherous on Tuesday morning.
Government agencies and many businesses chose not to open on Tuesday, and plans for Wednesday were still unsure for many as of our press time.
But Norris City Manager Adam Ledford on Tueday sounded the alarm on the possibility of frozen water lines Tuesday night as temperatures were expected to fall below zero.
“There will be more danger with frozen water lines tonight than roads,” he said.
“My attention starts turning toward those water events. I don’t know whether our city water lines are planted deep enough to avoid freezing. But at least water is moving most of the time though our lines.”
The relentless snowfall brought a total of up to eight inches in some areas of Anderson County, including Andersonville.
Clinton
Clinton City Manager Roger Houk said his city crews were focusing on clearing roads with hills first before moving on to the flatter ones.
He said Public Works crews would work “around the clock.”
“With it still snowing pretty hard, it’s kind of defeating the purpose,” he said late Monday. “As we’re scraping them, it’s covering them back up quite fast.”
He said the city used chips and sand on road surfaces for traction rather than salt.
Not all roads in Clinton are the city’s responsibility. Houk said Seivers Boulevard is a state highway, which the state treated, but it still was slick.
On Tuesday, Seivers was worse than it was on Monday.
Although state road crews had almost completely cleared the bridge over Interstate 75 at Exit 122, the Clinch River bridge on Seivers was still an icy mess Tuesday.
Oak Ridge
Within Oak Ridge, city communications specialist Lauren Gray said South Illinois Avenue was impassable in both directions from Lafayette Drive to Solway bridge on Monday morning.
“Crews are working as fast as possible to clear roadways,” she said. Main roads like South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike were the priority as crews worked through the city.
The city of Oak Ridge is also promoting a “warming center” at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church as a shelter from the cold.
Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless (TORCH), a nonprofit, will run this warming center until 2 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 21).
If someone needs assistance from this center, they can call the Oak Ridge Police Department at 865-425-4399.
Schools in Oak Ridge and across the county were also closed on Tuesday. Many were expected to remain closed today (Wednesday).
Waste Connections of Tennessee delayed its trash pickup services in Oak Ridge due to the weather, as did Dependable Disposal Service for its routes in Anderson County on Tuesday.
Anderson County
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank announced on Facebook the county’s emergency personnel and officials, along with Highway Superintendent Gary Long, were trying their best to deal with the hazardous conditions on county roads.
Frank said the county courthouse was closed on Tueday and most likely would be today (Wednesday) as well.
The CountyCommission meeting was canceled Tuesday, and rescheduled to Monday, Jan. 22, at 6 p.m.
Norris
In Norris, City Manager Ledford said late Tuesday morning that “We went out Monday and tried to focus on keeping the primary roads open.
“Our greatest concern today is that the temperatures are so low that salt doesn’t work.
“We’re going to see the roads refreeze [Tuesday night] without a snow pack on top.”