TDOT reopens two severely damaged state routes

State Route 350 in Greene County and SR 133 in Johnson County have opened to traffic one week after Hurricane Helene swept through East Tennessee, destroying five bridges and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure.

Following the storm, SR 350, known locally as Jones Bridge Road, was piled 30 feet high with debris, according to a press release. Chunks of the road were washed away, exposing bare dirt and bent utility poles.

“In just 120 hours, 75 TDOT employees hauled dozens of truckloads of debris from Jones Bridge Road and repaired craters of asphalt displaced by the storm,” Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley stated in a press release. “Their commitment to reconnecting communities is unmatched as they continue to make progress day after day.”

Eley stated that TDOT is committed to informing the public of its progress during “this critical recovery period.” In fact, TDOT has created a dedicated webpage for storm updates at https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/hurricane-helene-recovery.html

On that site, TDOT will provide daily updates at approximately 3:30 p.m., according to Eley’s press release. The updates will include a project status tracker along with a map of East Tennessee closures, broken down by county.

Updates will also be shared on TDOT’s social media channels. For real-time information on road conditions, visit https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic?features=incident,majorImpact,traffic

RECOVERY HIGHLIGHTS:

49 sections of state routes originally closed, 30 of those have reopened;TDOT crews have inspected all state-owned bridges over water.Crews have assessed 35 of the 90 locally owned bridges requiring assessment; andMore than 400 dedicated TDOT team members are “tirelessly working” to repair and reconnect communities as quickly and safely as possible.