Interstate 40 remains closed in parts of Tennessee after a weekend of heavy rains that dumped more than 13 inches on parts of the state.
The highway is closed in and around Nashville, among the hardest hit areas by the record rainfall. Flooded conditions have closed the highway in some areas, and have forced Tennessee Dept. of Transportation (TDOT) officials to advise against travel in other areas.
Nearly every major road in the state, as of this morning, had some kind of flooding. “In the last two days, Nashville has received about one-quarter of its yearly rainfall,” a TDOT spokesman told Fleet Owner.
Updated road closures throughout the state can be found here.
According to Tennessee Trucking Assn. president Dave Huneryager, trucking operations have been greatly impacted in the Nashville area. Huneryager told Fleet Owner that the trouble started on Saturday along I-24 and 65. Trouble quickly spread around the state with I-40 taking the brunt of the flooding issues by Sunday.
“There’s a river called the Harpeth that runs under I-40 and along the highway and that’s what really [flooded the roadway],” he said, adding that the association is hearing that some of the lanes will be reopened by early this afternoon. “The water has done a lot of receding.”
The damage is not limited to just delayed trucks, though. “We have several trucking companies that have been flooded,” Huneryager said. “A lot of our carriers are saying this is the worst they’ve seen in 50 years.”
The closure of I-40 has created logistical nightmares for companies, particularly those traversing the state, Huneryager added. “The problem with 40 is, unless you’ve started at the beginning, there just are not a lot of alternatives.”
“When trucks can’t operate, they can’t really replace the revenue the next day,” he said. “It will adversely affect their operations.”
According to Nashville News Channel 5’s website, at one point, vehicles were trapped on I-40. “We had upwards of about 185 cars trapped on I-40 with flooding in front of them and flooding behind them last night. We were able to get all the passenger cars turned around and get them off the interstate. The tractor trailers remain because there’s not room to turn around,” BJ Doughty, TDOT spokesperson told the station.
Making matters worse for the area is the fact that many of the alternate routes are also flooded. Interstate 440, which connects with I-40 just outside Nashville in Davidson County, has numerous reports of high water in several areas.
The Nashville Mayor’s office is reporting that nearly 50 streets and highways have been closed and police and fire personnel have made over 600 water rescues.
The TDOT spokesperson said the rivers are not expected to crest until later tonight or even overnight. The Cumberland River, which runs through Nashville, was at 50.2 ft. with an expected crest coming at 51.2 ft. Flood stage for the river is about 38 ft.
As a result, local authorities evacuated both downtown Nashville and north Nashville to prevent against a leaking levee, according to the Associated Press.
Calling the event an “unprecedented rain event,” Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen told the AP it will take a while for the area to recover. “This is going to go on for a while,” Bredesen said. “It’s going to take a while for the water to recede and us to get down into this. It’s going to take several days for this to get back to anything near normal.”
The previous record for rainfall in Nashville over a two-day event was in 1979, when 6.68 in. fell from Hurricane Fredrick.
Mother Nature has taken her toll on transportation so far this year. Flooding in the Northeast last month caused major delays in Rhode Island when part of Interstate 95 was closed. Prior to that, a rock slide along I-70 in Colorado shut that down that highway for several days. That road is still not fully repaired yet.
in parts of Tennessee after a weekend of heavy rains that dumped more than 13 inches on parts of the state.The highway is closed in and around Nashville, among the hardest hit areas by the record rainfall. Flooded conditions have closed the highway in some areas, and have forced Tennessee Dept. of Transportation (TDOT) officials to advise against travel in other areas.
Nearly every major road in the state, as of this morning, had some kind of flooding. “In the last two days, Nashville has received about one-quarter of its yearly rainfall,” a TDOT spokesman told Fleet Owner.
Updated road closures throughout the state can be found here.
According to Nashville News Channel 5’s website, at one point, vehicles were trapped on I-40. “We had upwards of about 185 cars trapped on I-40 with flooding in front of them and flooding behind them last night. We were able to get all the passenger cars turned around and get them off the interstate. The tractor trailers remain because there’s not room to turn around,” BJ Doughty, TDOT spokesperson told the station.
Making matters worse for the area is the fact that many of the alternate routes are also flooded. Interstate 440, which connects with I-40 just outside Nashville in Davidson County, has numerous reports of high water in several areas.
The Nashville Mayor’s office is reporting that nearly 50 streets and highways have been closed and police and fire personnel have made over 600 water rescues.
The TDOT spokesperson said the rivers are not expected to crest until later tonight or even overnight. The Cumberland River, which runs through Nashville, was at 50.2 ft. with an expected crest coming at 51.2 ft. Flood stage for the river is about 38 ft.
As a result, local authorities evacuated both downtown Nashville and north Nashville to prevent against a leaking levee, according to the Associated Press.
Calling the event an “unprecedented rain event,” Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen told the AP it will take a while for the area to recover. “This is going to go on for a while,” Bredesen said. “It’s going to take a while for the water to recede and us to get down into this. It’s going to take several days for this to get back to anything near normal.”
The previous record for rainfall in Nashville over a two-day event was in 1979, when 6.68 in. fell from Hurricane Fredrick.
Mother Nature has taken her toll on transportation so far this year. Flooding in the Northeast last month caused major delays in Rhode Island when part of Interstate 95 was closed. Prior to that, a rock slide along I-70 in Colorado shut that down that highway for several days. That road is still not fully repaired yet.
