Slide Closes Highway 70N In Hawkins County

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Credit: TDOT

A section of Highway 70N in Hawkins County is closed indefinitely due to a major slide that occurred early Thursday morning. The slide, which happened between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM on February 21, 2019, claimed the life of one motorist and injured one other.

Highway 70N will be closed between State Route 94 and Clinch Valley Road, and a detour will be in place while mitigation work is underway.

Detours are as follows:

From SR 70 in Rogersville:
Take SR 1 South (US 11W) to SR 31 North in Mooresburg, then SR 33 North to SR 70 North.

From SR 70 in Kyles Ford:
Take SR 33 South to SR 31 South in Sneedville, then SR 1 (US 11W) in North Mooresburg to SR 70 North in Rogersville.

During the closure, all traffic will be detoured. Message boards are already in place near the slide to alert motorists to the closure. Drivers, especially those in Hancock and Hawkins Counties, are advised to plan ahead.

There is a possibility of additional soil movement and a potential for the slide to grow in size. The overall instability of the area will prevent the Tennessee Department of Transportation from maintaining a lane of travel until repairs can be completed. A completion date for the repairs will be available once an emergency contract has been awarded.