May 14, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
Quick action!
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has had a maintenance crew in Liberty this week working to improve the cross-slope of Highway 70 where so many wrecks have occurred in recent years including a few fatal crashes due to hydroplaning.
19 year old Savannah Buckley of Cookeville lost her life in a crash there Monday, May 3.
After learning of Buckley’s death, State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver last week contacted the Tennessee Department of Transportation urging the commissioner to have TDOT fix the drainage problem immediately in the “kill zone” on Highway 70 at Liberty. TDOT crews arrived on the scene within days.
WJLE reached out to TDOT Thursday for a comment on the scope of the work being done there.
“TDOT Maintenance is milling and repaving this area to try to improve the cross-slope of the roadway at this location to better drain water off the travel lanes during heavy rains,” said Jennifer Flynn, TDOT Region 2 Community Relations Officer.
“This location is in a transitional area toward the beginning/end of the curve, so the cross slope is flatter (not as steep) than other sections of the roadway. We are going to build up and steepen the slope across the road to better push water off the driving lanes to the shoulder and into curb and gutter so that the catchbasins/drainage system can take it away,” said Flynn.