Damage at Sweet P’s will reroute traffic

Beth KinnaneFountain City, Our Town Neighbors

If you’re having to travel south on Tazewell Pike at Jacksboro Pike in Fountain City Monday morning, be prepared for a reroute at the traffic light in front of Pratt’s Country Store. The southbound lane of Tazewell from the light and beyond is closed until the front of Sweet P’s Uptown Corner can be stabilized after an early Sunday morning car wreck did extensive damage to the building.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation posted this on Sunday: “State Route 131 (Tazewell Pike) is closed to southbound traffic at Sanders Drive in Knox County due to structural issues affecting Sweet P’s Uptown Corner building following a vehicle incident. This closure will be in place until property owners can make sufficient repairs to stabilize the building. Motorists should follow the established detour on Sanders Lane to Adair Drive. Northbound traffic is not affected at this time.”

Here are some photos of the damage at Sweet P’s:

The restaurant itself will be closed until further notice. The wreck occurred around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Knoxville Police Department. The driver left the scene on foot, and the crash is under investigation.

KPD recommends that anyone who regularly goes this way to get to the I-640 interchange or to go south on Broadway choose an alternate route. The hope is to have the lane reopened by some time on Tuesday. As a reminder, Monday is the first day back to school for Knox County, so slow down and stop for school buses.

Beth Kinnane is the community news editor for KnoxTNToday.com.

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