Lakeway Area road crews battle elements
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Lakeway Area road crews have been busy since Friday afternoon’s snowstorm began and lasted into Saturday evening.
Combine that with cold temperatures and wind chills and it makes for icy roads throughout the area.
Hamblen County Highway Superintendent Jeff Wisecarver said that his crews had worked all weekend starting Friday afternoon.
“We have 407 miles of county roads to take care of. It’s not a quick fix,” Wisecarver said. “We’ve been out salting and working on the main roads. We’re hoping that the sun will come out today and do its work. We’re going to work on some of the back roads and subdivisions today.”
Wisecarver said that that the cold has compounded efforts to clear the roads.
“I think it’s the amount of snow we got this time, but the temperatures. After we plowed the roads Friday, snow came in right behind us and covered them again,” he said. “It was 3 degrees when I came to work this morning around 6 a.m.”
In an update from Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency Director Jamie Miller, main roads had improved Sunday; however, temperatures dropped into the extremely low single digits Sunday night, causing widespread refreezing.
“Secondary roadways are still snow/ice covered,” Miller said “Additional emergency responders are staffed today in anticipation of increased incidents.”
Miller said that he still discourages travel if it can be avoided.
“Refreezing will result in a significant amount of black ice, which is nearly impossible to see,” Miller said. “If you must travel, slow down, use extreme caution, and assume that all roadways may be ice.”
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, their crews have also been busy with treating roads.
With winter storm recovery extending for more than a week, TDOT crews have worked 129,000+ hours and treated over 765,000+ miles with 92,000+ tons of salt and 1.8 million gallons of brine to clear roadways throughout the state. Crews have also completed 108 local requests for assistance. HELP trucks have managed 4,500+ incidents.
TDOT also credited their crews for their dedication.
In Cocke County, the Sheriff’s Office reported Monday morning that secondary roads are still solid sheets of ice.
South State Route 32 and Caney Creek Road are closed to local traffic. Temperatures were 14 degrees Monday morning.

