Blog: City Blog

City Departments Respond to Flooding

Starting on the evening of Wednesday, July 20 into the morning of July 21, parts of Knoxville and Knox County received up to six inches of rain within just a few hours.

The resulting flooding affected many local roads, damaging some and closing several until floodwaters receded.

Throughout the overnight storms, the City's Transportation Engineering department received 27 calls for service.

Central Avenue Pike at Irwin Drive sustained damage. The intersection was closed to traffic while crews repaired and repaved the parts of the road that washed away.

Central Ave Pike flooding

Through 2 p.m. Thursday, July 21, Public Service responded to 42 calls of downed trees and limbs, some blocking roadways and others located in parks or along greenways.

Tree down in road

Another area highly impacted by the flooding was in the Fort Sanders neighborhood at 23rd Street and Grand Avenue.

KFD Captain Linny Blair and Master Firefighter Jordan Adcox assisted with multiple flooded vehicles at the University Walk student apartment complex.

University Walk flooding

Nearby Tyson Park was also flooded, with Third Creek overflowing its banks.

Stormwater Engineering staff worked with the University of Tennessee, CSX Railroad and Knoxville Utilities Board to safely drain high water from a flooded area across the railroad tracks using pumps for about 24 hours. The process reduced the water level by a few feet and, with no rain in the forecast, anticipate the rest will drain over the weekend.

Pumping floodwaters

The Sequoyah Greenway Connector which links Sequoyah Greenway to Third Creek Greenway was temporarily closed Thursday. The City's Facilities department determined that the bridge suffered no structural damage and reopened it Friday after completing some minor repairs.

Posted by ptravis On 22 July, 2022 at 4:57 PM