Announcing County Government Closures

Knox County Engineering & Public Works crews on Wednesday applied approximately 50,000 gallons of liquid salt brine to all county collector and arterial roads. This morning, crews switched to regular salt and prepared vehicles to service roadways in each district as needed.

“I am always impressed by the diligent work our weather crews do to prepare for days like this,” said Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. “These teams read updates from the National Weather Service, make safety plans, coordinate schedules, and monitor the roads days ahead of snowfall. They work through the night and in the early hours of the morning to ensure our roads are as safely passable as they can be. It’s hard, cold work, but they do it in service to Knox County.”

As a reminder, during inclement weather incidents, residents should stay off the roads whenever possible until crews have cleared them. Crews will start clearing main thoroughfares and known problem areas first before moving on to complaints and secondary roads.

The Highway Department can equip up to 14 trucks with brine spreaders or equipment to spread granular road salt. Knox County has 17 snowplows that can be attached to dump trucks as needed and has 12 four-wheel-drive trucks that can be equipped with smaller snowplows for use on more narrow roads.

Additionally, Knox County Public Defender Eric Lutton and Knox County Commission Chairman Richie Beeler announced their offices would be closing at noon today, Thursday, Jan. 6. Offices under the executive branch—including the Health Department—will close at 1 p.m.

Additional closures—should they be necessary—will be shared via pop-up on the County’s website and via the County’s social media pages.