TDOT restricts large trucks on SR 116
A group of citizens showed up in Briceville for a meeting to hear an announcement about truck restrictions on State Route 116 near that community. State Rep. Ed Butler at center with county commissioners Tim Isbel and Shain Vowell on each side.
After complaints from area residents, TDOT officials conducted an operational and safety study on Route 116 and determined that due to sharp, hairpin curves, trucks more than 30 feet long are unable to safely stay in their lane.
Additionally, the curves created a sight-distance issue, which TDOT said led to safety concerns.
Citizens have shared photos and stories about truck accidents on that road on a Facebook page created especially for the issue, as well as at recent Anderson County Commission and Operations Committee meetings.
Route 116 is a nearly 42-mile-long, narrow, winding, two-lane road that connects drivers from State Route 330 in Anderson County and Route 62 in Morgan County to Rocky Top.
TDOT has identified three alternative routes for longer trucks to travel.
State Rep. Ed Butler, who represents the area in the General Assembly, announced the state’s action on Route 116 on Thursday.
He said he expects workers to install signs telling truckers about the new regulation “in the coming weeks.”
Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley signed the document to require this restriction on Wednesday Oct. 22. Butler met with residents at the Briceville Public Library on Thursday to share the news.
“I just wanted to let the community know in person,” he told The Courier News. “In a few hours, we gathered up quite a few folks to be there to make the announcement.”
He said TDOT will work with global positioning system apps so Route 116 will show up as a restricted truck highway rather than as a highway longer trucks can use.
“After a town hall meeting earlier this year and listening to the concerns of my constituents about 18 wheelers on State Route 116, I’m thrilled that we have been able to reach a solution that will help keep everyone safe on the highway,” Butler said. “I’m very thankful for Region One Director Steve Borden and his team, along with Commissioner Butch Eley and other TDOT leaders who have taken our concerns seriously and worked diligently to get this done.”
At the Oct. 14 Anderson County Operations Committee meeting, County Commissioner Tim Isbel shared photos taken by citizens of large semi-trucks on the highway. The trucks, from various companies, had difficulty staying in their lanes on the highway’s curves. A few images even showed the trucks veering off the road or crashing into smaller vehicles.
At the September County Commission meeting, Briceville resident Ricky Bailey told commissioners that he represented the communities of Frost Bottom, Laurel Grove, Briceville, Fraterville and Beech Grove. Bailey said the state had not designed the road for “heavy truck traffic like that,” adding that often as many of 30 semi-trucks drove on that road per day, and that many truck accidents had occurred.
“My neighbor who’s here tonight has had two trucks totaled by semi-trucks,” he said. “My niece has even come home crying before because she thought she was about to get hit by a semi-truck on the bus ride home,” he said.