A second rock slide on U.S. Highway 64 in Polk County has closed part of the road about seven miles west of the Nov. 10 rock slide that shut down the highway for months.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is examining the second, much-smaller slide and deciding how to clear it.
It apparently happened early Wednesday; a TDOT worker noticed it when reporting in at 5:30 a.m.
Geologists weren’t sure if the slide could be cleared by maintenance crews or if a contract to repair and stabilize the cliff will be necessary, TDOT spokeswoman Jennifer Flynn said.
Meanwhile, work to clear the bigger slide is progressing steadily and has not been significantly affected by the new one, she said.