ANDERSON COUNTY — Portions of State Route 116 in Anderson County, Tennessee, were washed away by storms that occurred Friday night and Saturday morning. This marks the third time in just over a year that the road has suffered a washout.
State Route 116 was closed near the Petros area following the damage. Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) crews began repairing a broken pipe and filling washed-out areas with rock on Sunday. Repaving of the affected section was scheduled to begin Monday, with the road expected to reopen soon, weather permitting.
“Severe flooding had caused a road collapse and the Tennessee Department of Transportation was notified and they responded. They were there on the scene, last I heard, and of course they'll have to probably wait until the water recedes before the extent of the damage can be determined,” said Anderson County Commissioner Shain Vowell.
Previous washouts occurred in January near the Rosedale community and on March 16, 2025, in the New River community, where a mudslide destroyed part of the roadway. The March 2025 site has remained reduced to one lane with a temporary stoplight for over a year.
“This is the third section of that road in the New River community that's been damaged over the last year, year and a half. TDOT comes in and starts the repairs, they do what they can but a lot of the time they have to narrow the lane down to just one lane,” Vowell said.
Anderson County Commissioner Tim Isbel has been working alongside Vowell with TDOT to advance repairs at the March 2025 washout site. TDOT plans to begin full construction on that section in November.