Michael Stokes

Staff Photo by Lesley Onstott
Drilling begins on the U.S. 64 rock slide. Geologists scaled the side of the rock slide, continuing to take measurements, as workers knocked down rock before removal of the debris occurs.

COPPERHILL, Tenn. -- Donna Brooks is facing difficult choices in the wake of the rock slide that closed U.S. 64 in Polk County.

The winding mountainside highway was the principle route Ms. Brooks traveled from her home in Copperhill, Tenn., to Cleveland State Community College.

With a three-story pile of rocks sitting in the highway, her new route winds north and requires almost an additional hour.

"I'm starting to spend my bill money on gas," said Ms. Brooks, 29, who is married and the mother of four children. "My husband works, but I'm going to school for nursing, so it's getting really hard."

Cleveland State is asking students in Ms. Brooks's position to contact administrators. They plan to offer those students the ability to study from home a few days a week or take complete classes via the Internet.

"We are working on a list right now of students we have enrolled now who may be impacted by the rock slide in Polk County," said Michael Stokes, vice president of student services at Cleveland State. "We are going to get communication to those students and encourage them to let us know if they are having difficulty getting here."

U.S. 64 was closed Nov. 10 when an estimated 30,000 cubic yards of rock fell from the mountainside onto the road. No one was injured, but the cleanup will take about two months and cost $2.1 million.

Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn has said the work was on track for completion in mid-January.

The current semester at Cleveland State ends Dec. 17, and the new semester starts Jan. 14.

"Last week, I bought $45 in gas just to come to school," Ms. Brooks said. "That's just for two days a week, and doesn't account for the trips I have to make to Cleveland for my children's' doctors appointments, which are longer now, too."

Ms. Brooks, who travels to Cleveland twice a week for classes, said it would be difficult to carpool since many of the students' classes begin and end at staggered times. She has contemplated sitting out a semester or attending classes at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, N.C., which is on her side of the rock slide and would be a shorter drive.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has about 45 students from Polk County enrolled this semester. University spokesman Chuck Cantrell said he was not aware of any issues that have been brought to the university regarding the travel situation since the rock slide.