Chattanooga Times Free Press wrote:Economic 'devastation' in Polk after rock slideDUCKTOWN, Tenn. -- During this time of year, business should be steady at the Ducktown Copper Inn, but this week the parking lot was barren and the hotel's operator was left with worries about mounting expenses and little revenue.
That worry is shared across the eastern part of Polk County roughly three weeks after a rock slide closed the major east-west route, U.S. Highway 64, that connects the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains to Cleveland and Chattanooga and other western points.
"It has really wiped us out," said hotel operator Michale Cox. "I never paid attention to how much traffic that road brought until now."
Less than a mile away, gas station owner Keith Roberson estimated his business is down 25 percent since the rock slide. The road closure comes during a time when travel already was slowing, he said.
"Anything that is taken away right now definitely makes it harder," Mr. Roberson said. "And I don't think they are sure they know when the road will be open. I don't think they have moved the first rock."
The impact is spread throughout the area and perhaps most noticed in the tourism industry. Tim Mercier, who owns Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Ga., said his business has been affected.
"We have regular customers that have told us that the alternate routes are just too long," he said. "Thank goodness this didn't happen in October (apple harvest season) or we would have really been in a mess."
CLEARING THE RUBBLE
For now, Tennessee Department of Transportation officials are sticking by their eight-week prediction for clearing the rock slide, which means the road could be open by Jan. 15, but all parties admit that is an estimate based on best-case scenarios.
"We were saying at least eight weeks in the beginning, and that is if we have optimum conditions," said Jennifer Flynn, the TDOT region spokeswoman. "But our main goal is to do the work as quickly and safely as we can."
The estimated 3,000 dump truck-loads of rock atop U.S. 64 has not budged a bit, and the slide debris pile actually may grow before it is cleared, officials said.
This week, TDOT contractors drilled holes into the face of the mountainside. Later they will pack those holes with explosives in an attempt to dislodge more loose rock, Ms. Flynn said.
The effort is complicated by miles of other potential rock slides along U.S. 64, Ms. Flynn said. Workers do not want to set off other slides, nor do they want to damage a nearby Tennessee Valley Authority dam that holds back the Ocoee River, she said.
"That is such a sensitive area," Ms. Flynn said. "We are working right there next to that dam, and it was built in 1912. It's not like you can set off massive blasts. All the work has been small and controlled."
IMPACT ON COMMUTERS
Now that U.S. 64 is closed, eastern Polk County's relative isolation is amplified. There is no quick route from Copperhill and Ducktown to Cleveland and Chattanooga, the principal shopping, health care and employment hubs.
U.S. 64 usually take commuters from Ducktown to Cleveland in about 50 minutes. The two best alternates take more than an hour and 45 minutes. Getting to Chattanooga takes even longer.
Those commutes are a necessity for the roughly 70 percent of the community that travels outside Polk County for work. The area has been without a major employer since Tennessee Copper Co. closed in 1987.
"A whole lot of people work in Chattanooga, and now that's an extra 90 miles away," said McCaysville, Ga., Mayor James Finch. "That is playing havoc with many people's budgets, and with the economy like it is, people weren't bringing home as much money to start with."
Mr. Finch said traffic begins backing up as early as 4 a.m. most days as workers head to jobs in Dalton, Ga., and other points south of McCaysville.
Even retirees are finding it hard to get around, as doctor visits are even farther away and the alternate routes are winding and involve multiple stops.
"I'm upset that I am going to have to go an hour out of my way just to get to the doctor," said Copperhill Mayor Cecil Arp. "We have so many people that are on fixed incomes and drawing retirement. They will not go to Cleveland now because Highway 64 is blocked off."
Among some others, there is outrage.
"What's happened to this community and all the way up to Murphy (N.C.) is an abomination," said retired teacher David Beckler. "I know people that get up at the crack of dawn just to get to work. Can you imagine how many people have literally bought gas into poverty just to get to work every day?"
LONG-TERM IMPACT
Locals assume many of the motorists who navigated scenic Highway 64 either are staying home or finding other routes to the touristy mountain region.
"We are really feeling the effects," Ducktown Mayor James Talley said. "It's really devastated our local economy."
Mr. Talley said he is worried about the impact on local sales tax revenue, as fewer motorists means fewer highway purchases such as gas and food.
Residents say this closure and its financial impact illustrate the need for an alternate road, dubbed Corridor K. That project has been in talks since the 1960s, but it carries a price tag between $500 million and $1 billion, TDOT officials have said.
"Can you imagine if it took you an extra hour just to get to work in the morning and you were still going to the same place?" said gas station owner Mr. Roberson. "Your pay hasn't changed, but it takes you an hour more."
Mr. Mercier hopes that once the road is open again, the tourists come back to his orchard.
"We depend on people coming fairly regularly," he said. "There is a significant number that aren't coming now, but long-term we hope they don't forget about our part of the area."
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