GUILD, Tenn. – Multiple landslides along a mile-long section of highway in Marion County are forcing state officials to begin searching for long-term solutions to a problem that has plagued local residents for decades.
The stretch of road on Highway 41 – dubbed the Dixie Highway in the South – has been in almost constant upheaval since it was built. Federal Highway Administration records show U.S. 41 construction began in the mid-1920s. State transportation officials say it’s been an ongoing maintenance nightmare.
In 1982, one slide destroyed Sullivan’s store, owner Randall Sullivan told the Times Free Press in 2013. The current store – the third – was built on top of the rubble, he said.
EVEN WORSE THAN 41?
TDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn says U.S. Highway 41 isn’t the worst road in the TDOT Region 2’s 24-county district. That title goes to State Route 85 in Fentress and Overton counties. The road has been completely closed to traffic since the record-setting rain on Feb. 23 with slide problems similar to those in Marion County.
The most recent slide occurred in February after record-setting rains fell across the region. Altogether, there are four slide areas now under repair.