Sweetwater – Details were still sketchy at press time Wednesday, but what was clear was tragedy was narrowly avoided in a Monday-afternoon incident.
N.C. Department of Transportation Communications Officer David Uchiyama told The Graham Star on Tuesday that the Sevierville, Tenn.-based contractor Charles Blalock & Sons, Inc., temporarily suspended Corridor K-related construction activities after an unidentified worker was injured while operating grading equipment between Nathan Garland Road and Stecoah Gap on N.C. Hwy. 143 (Sweetwater Road).
Emergency traffic indicated a bulldozer the worker was operating turned over, though it is still not known for sure what caused the accident. Radio traffic reported that the worker was not pinned under the dozer. First responders on the scene later informed 911 dispatch that the worker had been airlifted to UT-Knoxville Medical Center.
Uchiyama confirmed to The Star that the worker’s injuries were not life-threatening, adding that the N.C. Department of Transportation wishes the worker a speedy recovery.
Work began on Corridor K with a ceremonial groundbreaking Oct. 3, 2022, and will close the book on a project first conceived in 1965.