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Livingston Academy will use a new temporary traffic pattern around flood waters.
Overton Director of Schools Dr. Mark Winningham said high water around school property prompted the new pattern.
“The people who will be affected will be the ones coming from Highway 52. They will enter the high school from 52 through Melvin Johnson Drive, then they will be able to exit through to 52,” Winningham said. “The people in the south end of the county in the Rickman, Hilham, and Wilson area will be affected. They will have to go through the town of Livingston to the 111 bypass.”
Students who commute to school on their own are asked to turn onto Highway 52 and avoid turning right onto Bradford Hicks Drive. Portions of Bradford Hicks Drive between Highway 52 and Preston Street remain flooded at this time.
Winningham said the school will continue to monitor water levels this weekend to determine if the new route will still be necessary when students return Monday.
“It would depend on how much the water receded. If 111 is back open and operating as normal, we would have normal traffic patterns then,” Winningham said. “Just make sure you’re maybe a little more aware than you would normally because there will be in that area. They are actually using Melvin Johnson Drive as a detour around the 111 bypass.”
Winningham said traffic could pick up Saturday as the school will host a basketball game during the day, but doesn’t anticipate it on being a major issue.
“I don’t think that will really impact the basketball game other than the people traveling from the visiting team,” Winningham said. “I think we’ve made contact with them to make sure they understand the route they will have to take. Hopefully the people in Overton County already knew they can’t take 111 and that they’d have to take an alternate route into the high school.”
Winningham said three additional officers will help keep traffic moving at the high school the next few days during the new traffic route.
Overton County students have been out of school all week with inclement weather closing the district Thursday and Friday, while illness canceled school Tuesday and Wednesday.
