The Tennessee Department of Transportation is near completion on removing controversial guardrails from roadways.

Officials say the X-Lite guardrail went through a vehicle on I-75 causing the death of 17-year-old Hannah Elmers of Loudon County in November 2016. The controversial guardrail was also blamed for two deaths in Cumberland County. On June 29, 2016, the Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to a vehicle accident at the 315 mile marker of Interstate 40 near Crossville, where 18-year-old Jacob D. Davidson of North Carolina and 21-year-old Lauren A. Beuttel of Johnson City were both killed. Officers say a X-Lite guardrail impaled the vehicle the two were in upon impact.

Citing safety concerns, TDOT has removed 1,951 of the guardrails in the past year. There are slightly more than 30 left across the state. All have been removed in Western and Middle Tennessee. The remaining X-LITE guardrails in East Tennessee are scheduled for removal by the end of this month (July 2018).