Slide shuts down one lane of Route 116 past Briceville
A slide along Tennessee Route 116 in northwest Anderson County has shut the road down to one lane, pending repairs. (photo:tdot photo )
Pending repairs, all traffic will be routed through the slide area on the westbound side, and temporary traffic signals are being installed to accommodate the change, according to TDOT spokesman Mark Nagi.
The slide occurred in the area of Grave Hill Missionary Baptist Church, southwest of Briceville in far western Anderson County.
“Geotechnical engineers are currently assessing the situation,” Nagi said in an email Monday afternoon. “Crews have set up barriers and temporary traffic signals will be installed. This lane closure will be in place until the slide has been repaired.”
Route 116 carries traffic from Rocky Top through Briceville and then into the New River area, connecting to Petros and Brushy Mountain State Prison, which is now a popular tourist attraction.
The part of the route west of Briceville was restricted by TDOT to keep out large trucks last year, after residents of the area complained to the state about frequent accidents caused by the trucks operating on the windy mountain road.
Debbie Harness of the Laurel Grove community said Tuesday that she had not been out to see the slide area yet, but she said tractor-trailer rigs are still using Route 116 in spite of the ban.
Harness, who helped lead the effort by residents to ban big trucks on the road, said that only “very small” signs have been put up in a few places to warn truckers not to use the route.
There has been no word yet on what caused part of the pavement to break off and slide down the riverbank, or whether use of the highway by heavy trucks might have been a factor.
No timetable has been announced yet as to when repairs will be completed.
