Weather causes major rock slide in Tennessee

November 11, 1:33 PMNashville Weather ExaminerMichael Detwiler

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Major rock slide in Tennessee
Courtesy: 3News (New Zealand)

Amazing video (courtesy: Chattanooga's Times-Free Press) coming out of southeast Tennessee near the Ocoee River. A large rock slide has blocked Highway 64 near the whitewater entry area. If you're not familiar with the location, imagine going due east from Chattanooga/Cleveland area, due north of Atlanta, and due south of Knoxville/Maryville area. It is a major artery for the Polk County emergency vehicles. The road also carries traffic for those heading toward North Carolina.

NewsChannel 9 (Chattanooga) Video Story

WRCB-Channel 3 (Chattanooga) with Video

TDOT (Tennessee's Department of Transportation) has an excellent web site

Need to get around the slide area? Here is a PDF file of the detour route.

Latest information from TDOT says the road will likely be closed for weeks due to the slide. The other issue complicating the situation is they are assessing the rest of the mountainside near the slide. Occasional rocks are coming off the mountain. 

This is in addition to a large rock slide that occurred recently on Interstate 40 near the Tennessee/North Carolina border. I-40 is currently blocked as well, causing a big detour. News story from WITN.com

Additionally, the I-40 slide has stirred a long-heated debate on why this route was ever chosen. The detour route on I-81 is now the subject of repair problems and a detour to the detour. Excellent story about the history of I-40's Pigeon River route from Asheville's Citizen-Times.