Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Police Chief Sterling Owen announced traffic enforcement plans for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The special traffic enforcement effort will begin at 4:00 p.m. Friday, September 1, 2006 and conclude at Midnight, Monday, September 4, 2006.

The Labor Day holiday weekend is typically one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year. Along with the normal increase of motorists traveling through our city we will have more than two-hundred thousand people who will make their way to the downtown area for either the University of Tennessee home football game or for Boomsday. The number of visitors is expected to increase this year now that Boomsday festivities will take place over a three-day period.

Chief Owen said, "One of the biggest challenges for the department will be to facilitate traffic flow in and out of the UT area for football traffic as well as the downtown area for the Boomsday fireworks show. Several road closures will take place over the course of the weekend that residents and visitors need to be aware of before making the trip downtown."
Northbound lanes of the Henley Street Bridge will close at approximately 8:00 p.m. on Saturday
Southbound lanes of the Henley Street Bridge will close at approximately 11:00 p.m.
All lanes of the Henley Street Bridge will reopen by 6:00 a.m. Monday
Neyland Drive from Walnut to Lake Loudoun Boulevard will close at 4:00 a.m. Sunday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. Monday
The Neyland drive closure will be moved back to the James White Parkway at 3:00 p.m. Sunday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. Monday
The Gay Street Bridge will close to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic sometime between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. The bridge will reopen immediately following the fireworks show With the exception of the Summit Hill Bridge closure, UT football traffic routes will remain unchanged from last year despite ongoing construction of the new downtown road project. Parking on the UT campus will remain off limits except to individuals with parking passes. KAT busses will provide rides from the Civic Coliseum parking garages for a small fee. No parking will be allowed along Neyland Drive.

Chief Owen said, "Special security measures will be in place around Neyland stadium to help ensure the safety of the fans. Officers will also be equipped with hand-held metal detectors at all gates."Directed Patrols, Saturation Patrols, and SMART Units will be utilized to reduce the speed of motorists traveling throughout the city. Officers will aggressively enforce posted speed limits while looking for motorists who are driving recklessly or who are driving while impaired.
"Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 and above is illegal in every state," said Kendell Poole, Director of the Governor's Highway Safety Office. "The message is simple * Booze It and Lose It. With checkpoints, roving patrols, undercover officers and concerned citizens, chances are if you drive impaired this holiday, you will be caught," said Director Poole.
During the 2005 Labor Day holiday traffic enforcement effort officers issued 796 traffic related citations. Officers also investigated 85 vehicle crashes with 15 of those resulting in personal injuries. One fatality was recorded during the 2005 Labor Day weekend.
Mayor Haslam said, "We encourage all citizens to exercise patience while maneuvering along the streets in vehicles and on foot."

"We also ask that motorists be watchful for our officers directing traffic especially after dark when visibilities are reduced," Mayor Haslam concluded.