City of Knoxville crews are rerouting traffic and working to reopen a section of Deane Hill Drive closed by a malfunctioning drainage system put in place decades ago by a private developer.

However, 64 feet of pipe that fit the existing drainage infrastructure is being shipped to Knoxville from out of state, so the project won’t be completed until Friday evening or possibly Saturday.

A section of Deane Hill Drive between Cheshire Drive and Morrell Road in West Knoxville collapsed Wednesday. An underground drainage pipe had failed to adequately carry water underneath the road, causing water to wash away dirt and eventually cause the road to sink at 7128 Deane Hill Drive and the pipe to be smashed.

“We’ll be replacing the pipe, correcting the grade and the water drainage, then filling in the hole with dirt and repaving the road,” said Chad Weth, the City’s Public Service Department Director.

“Both lanes will remain closed at the point where the road is damaged until the repair is complete, so we’re asking motorists who don’t live on Deane Hill Drive to avoid using it as an east-west route. Local residents can access their driveways and homes, but motorists should avoid Deane Hill Drive as a cut-through.”

Kingston Pike or Westland Drive are alternative east-west routes.

A barricade is set up at Wellsley Park Road, so eastbound motorists on Deane Hill will be routed back to Gleason Road. Another barricade is set up on Deane Hill Drive at Lockett Road, which will route westbound motorists onto Lockett back to Kingston Pike. (The barricades cover one lane of traffic; local residents can drive around them to access their homes, but through traffic is directed to follow the detours.)

The City’s Deane Hill Recreation Center at 7400 Deane Hill Drive is open and can be reached from Morrell Road.

Visit www.knoxvilletn.gov and www.facebook.com/CityofKnoxville for updates on the repair work and the road’s reopening.
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