PIONEER, Tenn. — A major north-south interstate reopened in both directions near here Thursday, almost four weeks after it was shut down following a rock slide.
Although only one lane northbound reopened on Interstate 75 about 35 miles north of Knoxville, the move saves travelers from a 33-mile detour of 45 minutes to an hour on twisty roads through mountain towns. The slide at mile marker 141.5 primarily affected northbound lanes, but Tennessee Department of Transportation officials closed the road in both directions Feb. 26 because boulders, some as large as 6 feet in diameter, had traveled into the median, spokesman Mark Nagi said.
After making sure that southbound lanes were safe, officials reopened those lanes in the evening March 9, ending the need for one 25-mile detour.
Contractors are continuing work in the unopened northbound lane to stabilize the hill that gave way, Nagi said.
Truck traffic is not prohibited from using the route, which reopened at about 9:45 a.m. ET. Trucks with heavy or wide loads had been encouraged to detour almost 150 miles, using other interstates and U.S. 25W from Knoxville to Corbin, Ky.
Crews are hauling away portions of the hill as part of a $2.9 million emergency contract to reopen this section of I-75, which spans nearly 1,800 miles from suburban Miami to the Canadian border at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Spring break travelers, who use the route to get to south Florida, now will have only minor delays heading back home.
The entire repair project is expected to be complete by April 15.
In 2012, embankments gave way in March and May along the same stretch of interstate — at Tennessee mile marker 143 — destroying a southbound lane and closing the road for months. At the time, more than 28,000 vehicles a day had been traveling both directions on I-75 in that area, the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel reported.
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