TRAFFIC ALERT – POSSIBLE WATER MAIN BREAK RESULTS IN CLOSURE OF ONE LANE OF I-40 WEST IN ROANE COUNTY

Interstate 40 in Roane County at the westbound mile marker 351 (just before the river bridge) is a traffic hazard because of a possible water main break. At this time, west bound is down to one lane of travel. If the work crew needs to dig up both lanes, then the interstate will be shut down at Gallaher Road west bound. Traffic will be diverted to get off at the Gallaher Road west bound exit and travel west on Highway 70 to the Midtown exit. Officials are uncertain of exactly how long this will take. They are estimating several hours. All red lights at this time are on auto in Kingston, but if TDOT completely shut down the interstate, the City of Kingston will have people operating the red lights manually to help get traffic out of town.

School traffic: If you are traveling to pick up your kids at school, plan on leaving early to get to the school on time. If your child rides a school bus, there is a possibility of buses being caught in the traffic from the interstate.

If you are attending the high-school graduation tonight, we suggest you leave for the graduation very early.

The work crew is going to work as fast as possible, so please be patient.

POSSIBLE DETOUR ROUTE – Get off at Pellissippi Parkway (Exit 376) proceed north until it turns into Highway 61. Take 61 through Oak Ridge to Oliver Springs then take Highway 62 south toward Harriman, then take Highway 27 to Harriman and I-40. Then you are clear of the incident area.

IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE INTERSTATE PAST PELLISSIPPI PARKWAY – Get off at nearest exit and backtrack to Pellissippi Parkway or you can get off at Gallaher Road and go north to Oak Ridge then take a left toward Oliver Springs. This repair will last a few hours, so it may be worth backtracking and going the long way around.