Heavy Duty Towing in Oak Ridge, TN

Heavy Duty Towing in Oak Ridge starts with a map that looks nothing like a normal town. The city was established in 1942 as a Manhattan Project production site and incorporated in 1959. It is in Anderson and Roane counties, had 31,402 people in the 2020 census, and lies about 25 miles west of downtown Knoxville. Five ridges run northeast to southwest through it. Call (865) 339-3202 and tell the dispatcher which road and which side of the ridge you are on.

Five ridges, one river

The ridges are Blackoak, East Fork, Pine, Chestnut and Haw. Roads run in the valleys between them and cross over at gaps. The Clinch River bends around the city, forming a half-rectangle of water on the northeast, east and southwest. From the old K-25 site it flows about 11 miles to meet the Tennessee River at Kingston. A truck that leaves the road here can drop quickly toward trees or water, and recovery uses winch lines and anchors in places where a wrecker cannot park.

SR 95 and the Oak Ridge Turnpike

State Route 95 is the main highway through the city. It is 42.3 miles long, runs as the four-lane divided Oak Ridge Turnpike, meets SR 62 (Illinois Avenue) near the center and ends at SR 61 northeast of town. To the south it meets I-75 at exit 81 in Lenoir City and crosses the Clinch River on the Charles Vanden Bulck Bridge. Part of the route near Greenback has two lanes and no shoulders, which makes any stop on that stretch a hazard.

SR 62 links Oak Ridge to Solway and the Pellissippi Parkway (SR 162), which was built to speed travel between Knoxville and Oak Ridge.

The Pellissippi side

The Pellissippi Parkway starts at a directional interchange with SR 62 (Oak Ridge Highway) at Solway. Hardin Valley Road, which serves Pellissippi State Community College, and SR 131 (Lovell Road) follow. Trucks heading from Oak Ridge to the interstate often take this route. Westbound SR 62 has no direct access to the parkway, which can send a lost driver the long way around.

Department of Energy land

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (founded 1943, about 5,700 staff in 2021) and the Y-12 National Security Complex (construction began in February 1943, about 8,600 people including subcontractors) are in the city. The K-25 gaseous diffusion plant ran until 1985 and was demolished between 2013 and 2015. In 1943 the town had a fence with seven gates and guard towers.

On Department of Energy land, most access roads are controlled or blocked off. If your truck is on or next to federal property, site security decides who can enter and when. Tell the dispatcher so we can plan around it, and have your delivery paperwork or contact ready.

What to have on hand

• Route name and direction (SR 95, SR 62, SR 58, a ridge road)
• The nearest intersection or facility entrance
• Truck type, weight and what it is carrying
• Contact name at the facility, if there is one
• Who pays

The dispatcher gives an honest arrival estimate on the call.

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