Franklin County road to be closed for two weeks for rock slide cleanup

photo Rock slide in Franklin County

State Route 16 in Franklin County, Tenn., will remain closed near log mile 17.7 as cleanup continues after a rock slide earlier this week, a news release states.

Because the slide occurred at the site of an active $2.4 million Tennessee Department of Transportation rock slide mitigation project, personnel from Highways, Inc., mobilized quickly and began cleaning up the Rowe Gap Road/Keith Springs Mountain site.

Transportation department personnel have identified several unstable areas that need to be fixed before the road can be reopened. In addition to cleaning up Monday's slide, the contractor will drill and blast an unstable rock wall. That work is expected to take several days to finish.

TDOT officials hope to reopen the road on April 12, the department's release states.

While it's closed, only local passenger car traffic will be allowed to use the narrow Iron Gap Road to detour around the site. Truck traffic must seek alternate routes.

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