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Mad1
08-04-2007, 12:27 PM
Sometimes I really enjoy my work. If you didn't already know it ... I'm the spokesman for TEMA.

Editor's note: The Dragon is an 11-mile stretch hairpin turns along U.S. Highway 129 as it cuts it way through the Little Tennessee River Gorge linking Tennessee and North Carolina.

'Dragon' still closed by toilet paper truck wreck

News Sentinel staff
Originally published 10:22 a.m., August 2, 2007

The stretch of U.S. Highway 129 known as “the Dragon” remains closed today as authorities continue to clean up a tractor-trailer load of toilet paper.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said it was not sure when the road would reopen.

The spill happened about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday when a tractor-trailer truck overturned on the winding road, spilling much of its load, according to a THP dispatcher.

No one was reported injured in the crash, the dispatcher said, and the road remains closed this morning.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and Tennessee Department of Transportation were notified, the dispatcher said.

A TEMA official said late Wednesday the agency was aware of the situation but no state aid had been requested.

The Dragon winds through the Smoky Mountains near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, boasting more than 300 curves in 11 miles. The challenging terrain makes it a popular and dangerous attraction for motorcyclists.

More details as they develop online and in Friday’s News Sentinel.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

RCSignals
08-04-2007, 12:35 PM
Must have been a real big load

Mike Poore
08-04-2007, 04:29 PM
Hey MAD, all they gotta do is go up there with a giant mutha plunger, right? :D

BTW, that's a way cool job you got, there. :)

Mad1
08-05-2007, 02:43 PM
It's a pretty nifty job. That was just the lightest story I dealt with that week.

We had ... in order of importance:

A guy fall down a 1,100 ft. mine shaft (fatality)

Hundreds of media inquiries about bridges and safety (*Not unreasonable considering what happened in Minnesota. We have 5 bridges of similar design in Tennessee.)

A majority of the 108 "warning" sirens around Oak Ridge reservation site fail to sound during the regular monthly test. It was due to an air conditioner failing in a radio repeater site that let led to less than ideal reception of the signal required to sound the sirens.

Jeremy
Mad1