KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- East Tennessee was met with several inches of snow on Friday and crews all across the region got to work making sure the roadways were safe to drive on.
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, from the morning of Jan. 8 through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 12, crews in Region 1 (24 East Tennessee counties) went through 268,616 gallons of brine. TDOT also went through 55,457 gallons of calcium chloride and 17,054 tons of salt while working on interstates and state routes.
The ice and snow budget for Region 1 for the 2024/2025 fiscal year is over $11 million, TDOT said. However, officials are not sure at this time how much of that budget was used.
Jim Snowden, with Knox County Engineering and Public Works, said the county applied 100,000 gallons of salt brine in preparation of the snow. They also used 800 tons of salt during the storm and placed an order of 1,000 tons to refill their stockpile.
The city of Knoxville said they are still figuring out how much city crews used.