Roads being cleared in Carter County but lots of snow, ice left

ELIZABETHTON — There appeared to be some progress in Elizabethton in clearing the highways and main streets on Monday. Trucks from the Tennessee Department of Transportation was having success with salt trucks and plows in clearing highways in the county. While asphalt was once again visible after being buried all weekend by snow, the roads were sloppy with slush and snow melt. Temperatures in the teens on Monday night meant icy conditions on Tuesday morning. The icy conditions led to the Carter County Courthouse being closed for the second consecutive day. Courts have been rescheduled for Wednesday. Carter County Schools were also closed on Tuesday. Carter County Highway Superintendent Shannon Burchett said his department has been receiving lots of phone calls from residents wanting to know when their roads will be cleared. He said he had all 15 of his trucks and his road crews out all day on Monday, but he said what was really needed was to get a long time during the day with temperatures above freezing and sunny skies. "If we could just get some sunshine, that would really help," Burchett said. "We had some nice sunny weather early on Monday, but it went away later in the morning and the clouds returned. If that groundhog had anything to do with it, I am going hunting for it." The weather forecast should please Burchett. The National Weather Service said there should be moderating temperatures over the next few days. There should be some precipitation late on Tuesday, but it is expected to be in the form of rain. It is expected to be dry, with more normal temperatures for the weekend in comparison with the last few weekends' wintery blasts. Burchett said the county's salt supply is holding out. He received a call that the order for resupply of salt he has had in since December was being "rushed". He said one problem he is now having is that so many cars and trucks have driven over some of the snowy roads that they have become packed down, making it harder to plow the roads clean. As far as his crews are concerned, Burchett said there have been no injuries reported. He said there have been several trucks that have slid into ditches, but other trucks from the department were able to pull them out. A few of the trucks were so loaded with salt that the department's trucks could not pull them out and wreckers had to be called in to get them out.