Geologist assesses damage from Lookout rock slide

While workers were busy rebuilding the side of Signal Mountain where a rock slide created a road crater last week, a state geologist was across town assessing damage from a Saturday rock slide on Lookout Mountain.

The corner of the rock face that still is intact after Saturday evening's Scenic Highway slide is weathered and needs to be cleared off the side of Lookout Mountain, said Tennessee Department of Transportation geologist Randy Jones.

To fix the damage, "we'd have to break up that loose material and remove some of the trees at the edge," Mr. Jones said.

He said additional work would need to be done at a later date.

After two large boulders slid down the mountain and fell into a ditch by the highway about two miles from Ruby Falls, TDOT officials closed the road Saturday night. The road was reopened fewer than 24 hours later after debris was cleared from the side of the highway.

The section of the rock that fell had been cracked for years, and water probably had been running into the base until it caved on Saturday, Mr. Jones said.

State transportation officials did not know that area of the mountain was at risk of sliding, but officials had monitored several sections along Lookout Mountain, Mr. Jones said.

"We've had some areas on (Highway) 148 here that we've been monitoring and hope to someday provide solutions to," he said.

After Mr. Jones makes his recommendations to TDOT's maintenance division, work can begin to clear away the area at risk of sliding loose from the mountain, said Jennifer Flynn, TDOT region spokeswoman.

While the rock could take months before it could slide, maintenance crews will work as quickly as possible to follow Mr. Jones' recommendations, Ms. Flynn said. She did not know how soon that would be.

Because the road is narrow, it will have to be closed for the repairs to be made, Mr. Jones said.

Meanwhile, on Signal Mountain, Mr. Jones said workers were doing an excellent job of filling the large crater on Signal Mountain Boulevard that resulted from the Dec. 9 washout.

That road, also called Highway 127, was closed Wednesday night from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. and will be closed again tonight for workers to finish dumping massive loads of rock into the crater, Ms. Flynn said.

She said workers will continue laying asphalt through the weekend. The road is closed from Friday to Monday, Ms. Flynn said.

"They're hoping to be totally complete by 6 a.m. (Monday)," she said.

SIGNAL ROAD CLOSURES

* Signal Mountain Boulevard is closed:

Today from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday

Friday from 9 p.m. to Monday at 6 a.m.