Truck hits TVA electrical tower; city loses power
Oakridger
A widespread power outage hit Oak Ridge Friday just before 4:30 p.m. after a pickup truck hit a TVA electrical transmission tower at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue/state Highway 62 and Union Valley Road.
Traffic was backed up for miles on South Illinois Avenue, and drivers were being redirected, according to a city of Oak Ridge news release issued at 5:47 p.m. Friday. Power was restored to parts of Oak Ridge around 5:20 p.m. and, according to the city release, electricity was expected to be restored to the rest of the city within the next two hours. The exception to the two-hour power restoration, according to the city release, would be the far southeast corner of the city, which was expected to take more time.