News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Highway 111 back open on Friday after the overturned fuel transport truck.
The Monterey Highway and Highway 111 intersection was closed early Thursday as a precaution to an overturned fuel transport truck. Fire Chief Rocky Dial said hazmat crews and emergency personnel worked some 15 hours to tow the tanker safely.
“The cleanup crew had to come,” Dial said. “They are located in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. I don’t know which exact area they came from, but they actually had to drill holes into the tanker and tap it and then, put a pump in there to pump all the fuel out because it was upside down.”
Police Chief Greg Etheredge said at its peak, traffic exiting the city was backed up for about a mile to the Livingston Taco Bell. Dial said in situations where explosive material is involved, it is better to work slowly and be precise.
“A lot of people might understand the reason why we evacuated some of the areas down there, but that was all precautionary measures just in case something did happen if it cached fire or did explode,” Dial said. “That was the reason why we had to divert traffic and ask residences and businesses to leave. It was all for their safety.”
A mixture of local Overton County agencies, as well as Crossville, Cumberland County, Putnam County and Cookeville Fire Departments assisted with the scene. Etheredge said the perimeter around the scene has been opened, and home owners and businesses have returned.
“We apologize for the inconvenience to all the people who were affected,” Etheredge said. “We had between 20,000 or 30,000 cars that came through there, and I can’t imagine anybody that had to wait more than 20 minutes.”
The tanker truck drove off the exit ramp of Monterey Highway into a ditch around 7:00 a.m. Thursday. The cause of the accident is unknown and is being investigated by Tennessee Highway Patrol.
