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I-75 Southbound Lanes Closed Near Kentucky Line

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Spring break not the best time to have all southbound lanes of I-75 through East Tennessee closed to traffic.

A landslide last Friday near mile marker 144 closed the interstate’s southbound lanes.  Motorists are currently being forced to use a 26 mile long detour around the closure.

Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Nagy says the state hopes to temporarily eliminate the detour by building cross over lanes between mile markers 141 and 144.

"We'll still have two lanes of traffic northbound on interstate 75, but when these cross-over lanes are finished they'll be one lane of traffic open for travelers heading south on interstate 75."

Nagy says TDOT hopes to have those cross-over lanes finished by this Friday, but wouldn’t suggest when the state thinks a normal traffic pattern on I-75 South might be resotred.

The detour comes as families and college students head from the Midwest to Florida and other locations for spring break.