US 64 closed in Polk County TN
John Lansford
border. US 64 is literally carved out of the rocks, with no room for
anything but the two lane road, as the video shows.)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/rock-slide-closes-highway-64-east-tennessee/
"Workers with heavy equipment had cleared all but a few boulders from
a rockslide that blocked U.S. Highway 64 this morning when, with a
tremble and a roar, another huge slide spilled across the road and
into the Ocoee River gorge."
John Lansford, PE
--
John's Shop of Wood
http://wood.jlansford.net/
NBtarheel_33
> (This is in the Ocoee River Gorge, between Cleveland TN and the NC
> border. US 64 is literally carved out of the rocks, with no room for
> anything but the two lane road, as the video shows.)
>
>
> "Workers with heavy equipment had cleared all but a few boulders from
> a rockslide that blocked U.S. Highway 64 this morning when, with a
> tremble and a roar, another huge slide spilled across the road and
> into the Ocoee River gorge."
>
> John Lansford, PE
> --
> John's Shop of Woodhttp://wood.jlansford.net/
Wow, I'm getting a little spleeny about the whole Smoky Mountains
region. Rock slides, bridge cracks...I think I'll go around the whole
area next time I head up north.
Honorable Mention
I'm very impressed that they got that slide caught on tape. That
doesn't happen very often. I'm glad nobody was hurt. I have been on
that stretch of road in both directions more times than I can count,
so I'm glad I wasn't on it when something like that happened.
John Lansford
>On Nov 10, 8:45�pm, John Lansford <jlnsf...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> (This is in the Ocoee River Gorge, between Cleveland TN and the NC
>> border. �US 64 is literally carved out of the rocks, with no room for
>> anything but the two lane road, as the video shows.)
>>
>> http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/rock-slide-closes-high...
>>
>> "Workers with heavy equipment had cleared all but a few boulders from
>> a rockslide that blocked U.S. Highway 64 this morning when, with a
>> tremble and a roar, another huge slide spilled across the road and
>> into the Ocoee River gorge."
>>
>Wow, I'm getting a little spleeny about the whole Smoky Mountains
>region. Rock slides, bridge cracks...I think I'll go around the whole
>area next time I head up north.
The larger problem is US 64 was an alternate route for those trying to
go west out of NC after I-40 was closed by a rock slide a few weeks
ago. Now there's no good route other than I-26, which is way further
north and out of the way than US 64.
jdunlop
And I just read a notice from TnDOT that I-81 will be closed the next
two weekends (one direction at a time) for emergency bridge repairs at
exit 23 (US 11E)
http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/69657707.html
Not a good time to be driving between NC and TN!
John Lansford
TNDOT has a detour route available using a state highway that goes
around the slide, but IIRC it's got many steep grades and sharp curves
that would make it difficult for trucks.
With the I-81/26 bridge closed at times in TN, I-40 closed in NC and
US 64 closed as well, that really only leaves the US 70 route through
Hot Springs as an east/west route between the two states.
Rich Piehl
What the heck is going ON in that area???? Has it been unusually wet or
dry to cause all these rock slides?
--
"One thing I've learned after all this road
Is that you don't know as much as you thought you know."
--The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
John Lansford
>John Lansford wrote:
>> (This is in the Ocoee River Gorge, between Cleveland TN and the NC
>> border. US 64 is literally carved out of the rocks, with no room for
>> anything but the two lane road, as the video shows.)
>>
>> http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/rock-slide-closes-highway-64-east-tennessee/
>>
>> "Workers with heavy equipment had cleared all but a few boulders from
>> a rockslide that blocked U.S. Highway 64 this morning when, with a
>> tremble and a roar, another huge slide spilled across the road and
>> into the Ocoee River gorge."
>>
>What the heck is going ON in that area???? Has it been unusually wet or
>dry to cause all these rock slides?
The former; the Appalachian region there has had a very unusual rainy
summer and fall, and the latest round of rain from TS Ida is just the
straw that broke the camel's back in this case.
Also, both I-40 and US 64 weren't built through the mountains with an
eye towards minimizing maintenance, or preventing a lot of rockslides.
If you look at the video, notice how the planes in the rock are
sloping right before everything slides. Those rocks are going to
slide and keep right on sliding towards the highway until there's
nothing left to slide.
Honorable Mention
TN 68 is a last resort detour. That road is long, extremely winding,
treacherous in places and horrible. In normal conditions, it carries
little traffic because it is such an uncomfortable drive with around
50 miles of hairpin turns. Add to that that safe passing is
impossible in an area with largely severely impoverished locals that
obviously do not get out much. The highway is improved drastically
from Tellico Plains to Madisonville, but south to Ducktown it is
horrible. I have wondered for many years why no money was ever
invested to realign and improve that road through there other than a
couple small bridge replacements that took place over a decade ago.
Not all of the road is built in impossible terrain, either, which
makes me wonder why there was never an investment in improving this
road. This road is the route of a badly needed Knoxville connection
that currently does not exist, and it is more practical than US 129 by
far.
NBtarheel_33
> TN 68 is a last resort detour. That road is long, extremely winding,
> treacherous in places and horrible. In normal conditions, it carries
> little traffic because it is such an uncomfortable drive with around
> 50 miles of hairpin turns.
Hmm...sounds like fun. I wonder why the bikers haven't made it as
popular as Deals Gap? Is it as bad as NC-80 from the Blue Ridge
Parkway to Marion?
Add to that that safe passing is
> impossible in an area with largely severely impoverished locals that
> obviously do not get out much.
Part of the reason for the poverty being the lack of adequate roads to
attract industry, and the shipment of existing industry out of the
USA. The basic Appalachia story, and seeing it first hand is always
enough to make me want to swear off Wal-Mart forever.
> I have wondered for many years why no money was ever
> invested to realign and improve that road through there other than a
> couple small bridge replacements that took place over a decade ago.
> Not all of the road is built in impossible terrain, either, which
> makes me wonder why there was never an investment in improving this
> road.
It's a vicious circle. Poverty breeds no tax revenue breeds no money/
interest in building new roads breeds economic exile breeds poverty.
Not to mention the fact that much of the area is simply not easily
navigable by land, e.g. the total lack of a decent direct route from
Knoxville to northeast Georgia.
> This road is the route of a badly needed Knoxville connection
> that currently does not exist, and it is more practical than US 129 by
> far.
So, it's bad, but not Tail-of-the-Dragon bad =). I don't think
Knoxville will ever be much better served by highway than it is now.
Even if you had unlimited money to blast your way through the
mountains, the NIMBYs would turn a shade of purple previously unknown
(a la I-3), and I can't say I wouldn't agree with them - that is a
very special part of the country that would be an utter shame to
haphazardly tear up for new highways.
Honorable Mention
I could never EVER support I-3. Ironically, those in the mountains
bitching the loudest are the same transplanted Floridians that already
ruined the mountains. I would definitely not want to encourage more
sprawl in that region. However, a two lane highway with frequent
passing areas is definitely a worthy consideration. This is more of
an issue of TN's poorly designed early highway infrastructure than an
issue with terrain. There is actually a county road that could become
part of TN 68 in Farner, but it lacks an adequate connection on the
north end. It is somewhat better constructed (old FAS) than the
highway itself. TN 68 has its parts that definitely have some
similarities to TOTD (esp. Hiwassee River crossing), but it is not
nearly as steep. That seems to be quite typical that the later
constructed FAS roads (built 60's/70's) are better roads than their
mountain highway equivalents.
John Lansford
>I could never EVER support I-3. Ironically, those in the mountains
>bitching the loudest are the same transplanted Floridians that already
>ruined the mountains. I would definitely not want to encourage more
>sprawl in that region. However, a two lane highway with frequent
>passing areas is definitely a worthy consideration. This is more of
>an issue of TN's poorly designed early highway infrastructure than an
>issue with terrain. There is actually a county road that could become
>part of TN 68 in Farner, but it lacks an adequate connection on the
>north end. It is somewhat better constructed (old FAS) than the
>highway itself. TN 68 has its parts that definitely have some
>similarities to TOTD (esp. Hiwassee River crossing), but it is not
>nearly as steep. That seems to be quite typical that the later
>constructed FAS roads (built 60's/70's) are better roads than their
>mountain highway equivalents.
When we held our public hearings a few weeks ago on the improvements
for NC 143 around Robbinsville, we got a lot of people showing up
convinced this was just the first step towards a future I-3. They had
their conspiracy theory already set up that the four laning of NC 143
would become I-3 and we were just calling it something different to
divert attention, despite the facts that NC 143 isn't to interstate
standards and the environmental document never mentions any future
upgrade or intention to ever do so.
For what it's worth, I've not spoken to any NC official who thinks I-3
is a good idea, or that it's anything but some Georgia politician's
wet dream. US 129 is in no way a suitable route for an interstate,
and the entire area there is full of trout streams, national forest
land, acidic rock, historic areas and scenic lands, far too many to
even try and route an interstate through them.
jdunlop
exit 23. So it's not as bad as it could have been. If they are able
to do this work at night (doubtful given the weather in Nov.) then the
backups won't be bad at all. Hopefully, they'll have officers at each
ramp intersection to direct traffic and keep I-81 moving as best as
they can.
NBtarheel_33
> The official detour for I-81 is the off/on ramps at the interchange at
> exit 23. So it's not as bad as it could have been.
I honestly don't even consider this kind of situation to be a
problem. It's reminiscent of some work that was going on in NC at the
I-85 Spencer interchange a few years ago; basically, you just exit the
highway, go straight through on the ramp, and back up onto the
highway. No worse than slowing down to rubberneck an accident. Now
if I-81 were closing completely and required a detour, with I-40 being
closed simultaneously, that would be a different story.
If they are able
> to do this work at night (doubtful given the weather in Nov.) then the
> backups won't be bad at all.
Other than truck traffic, TN I-81 is rather quiet beyond about 9 or
10pm, from my experience. The forecast for this weekend is sunny and
high 60s/low 70s by day, and high 30s/low 40s by night. The lowest
temperatures are usually not reached until around dawn or right after,
so it seems possible that work could be done between 9pm and, say,
3-4am without getting down into the realm of non-workable temperatures
(I may be dreaming, but isn't 45° the magic number for laying
asphalt?) I know that further north, between Wytheville and Bristol,
there was a night-time bridge repainting and construction project
going on when I passed through last week, and it was only 39° or so.
>Hopefully, they'll have officers at each
> ramp intersection to direct traffic and keep I-81 moving as best as
> they can
They most certainly will, as they did with I-85 at Spencer, NC. Is
anyone familiar with just how busy 11E would be between 10pm and
3-4am? I can't imagine it being that crazy, nor do I even remember a
whole lot of services at that exit.
NBtarheel_33
> For what it's worth, I've not spoken to any NC official who thinks I-3
> is a good idea, or that it's anything but some Georgia politician's
> wet dream.
And there are a good many in North Georgia that don't care to ever see
it happen either. US 441 has been 4-laned through most of Rabun
County, and that should be enough for a good many years to come. When
you look at the fact that you have basically three north-south
interstates (75, 26, and 40) that serve greater Knoxville (four if you
go east to include a 77-to-81 routing), and the fact that anything
from east Georgia to east Tennessee would have to essentially bisect
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the cost (in more than one sense)
of I-3 astronomically outweighs the benefits.
southernheiter
> treacherous in places and horrible. In normal conditions, it carries
> little traffic because it is such an uncomfortable drive with around
> 50 miles of hairpin turns. Add to that that safe passing is
> impossible in an area with largely severely impoverished locals that
> obviously do not get out much. The highway is improved drastically
> from Tellico Plains to Madisonville, but south to Ducktown it is
> horrible.
Have a question as I am travelling from Birmingham Al to Brasstown
(Murphy NC area). Very familiar with the area as I am a paddler. What
I am wondering is there a way to detour by taking hwy 30 (near Ocoee
lake) up toward Reliance and then drop down to either Ducktown or even
general Murphy area if necessary. IF there is a way, how long travel
time will it take???? Just how nasty is it (BTW I enjoy tail of the
dragon but don't like the time it takes if behind someone a little shy
of mountains)
My other option would be to come up throuh Rome GA-not thrilled with
that option but may have to do it.
John Lansford
ISTM that coming from Birmingham you'd have better luck coming north
out of Georgia rather than trying to get around the slide by going
north of US 64. TN 30 is part of the detour around the slide that
TDOT is recommending but on the map it looks pretty rough.
Honorable Mention
Actually there is, but it is not a fast drive by any stretch. If you
turn onto TN 30 and continue to the Archville Loop, turn on that up to
the stop sign, you make a right onto Kimsey Mountain Road (a steep,
winding dirt road) that comes out into TN 68 in Turtletown. I'm not
sure if it will save you much time or not, but it is an option.
Another option coming from Birmingham is to take I-20 to Atlanta,
I-575, GA 515 and then go up to Brasstown via GA 60/NC 60. That way,
you won't have to come anywhere near the gorge and will likely get
there faster. If you hate Atlanta, take US 411 out of Gadsden then GA
53 until you meet GA 515 in Jasper.
southernheiter
wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -
Thanks!