Site of rock slide that closed U.S. Highway 64 east of the Greasy Creek Bridge in Polk County, Tenn.Traffic flow returned to normal Tuesday about 13 hours after a rock slide closed U.S. Highway 64 east of the Greasy Creek Bridge near the eastern end of Polk County's Lake Ocoee.
Tennessee Department of Transportation crews began working to clear debris from the slide site after daybreak Tuesday. The largest piece, Polk County dispatchers said, was a 15-by-24-foot boulder that landed in the eastbound lane.
There were no injuries or private property damage reported.
Crews were able to restore traffic flow in one lane by 9 a.m. Tuesday with flaggers directing traffic, TDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said.
Tuesday's slide happened 500 feet or so west of another slide that happened after an especially rainy fall five years ago, along with several smaller slides that occurred in the wake of a large Nov. 10, 2009, slide and a second one the same day that closed Highway 64 for more than five months. Cleanup costs for that incident tallied $2.1 million.
Flynn said Tuesday's slide happened at 3:49 a.m. Tuesday at one of the slide-prone areas identified in studies started in 2005.
Since the slide in November 2009, there have been several significant slides in the Ocoee River Gorge.
The slide area now behind a fence just east of Tuesday's slide was created after a slide Jan. 19, 2010, while U.S. 64 was still closed for cleanup of the big slide two months earlier. Another slide happened at the same spot on Aug. 26, 2013, partly contained by the slide fence, but falling rock still hindered traffic till Jan. 30 of this year, according to TDOT records.
An April 2010 slide on the other side of the Ocoee River destroyed 60 to 70 feet of the Tennessee Valley Authority's historic wooden flume built in 1912, the Times Free Press reported.
Wet weather likely contributed to past slide activity, and this year's frequent rains have TDOT officials eyeing the sky again.
"We are always concerned about potential rock slide areas, and U.S. 64 in Polk County is one of the areas that we understand is prone to rock slides," Flynn said Tuesday.
Ice, rain, snow and temperature extremes contribute to slides, she said.
TDOT officials will keep a close watch on Polk County's stretch of U.S. 64 so they can address any problems that come up, or fall down, Flynn said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.