Overnight ice downs tree in Ashland City, causing power outages, delays


WSMV's Michael Warrick reports.
Published: Feb. 1, 2023 at 5:50 PM CST
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ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. (WSMV) - A coat of overnight ice brought down a tree in Ashland City keeping Nashville Electric Service (NES) crews busy clearing the road and restoring power.

The tree toppled power lines on Sams Creek Road Wednesday morning, resulting in power outages for people in the area.

As of Wednesday evening, less than 60 NES customers were without power just south of Ashland City, where the tree came down.

It resulted in long delays for drivers on their morning commute, especially semi-trucks, who had to wait for the road to clear.

John Jones, who picked up his freight in Ashland City, sat waiting on the two-lane road for nearly three hours.

“Picked up a load over here on the yard in Ashland City going to Kingman, Arizona, been a slow go,” Jones said. “I started to go Briley Parkway to 40, then said it’s shorter this way, but got up here and this tree was across the road, bad decision.”

NES crews reopened one lane of Sams Creek Road around 11:30 a.m. before the road was cleared Wednesday afternoon.

Without another potential round of ice forecasted for the western part of Tennessee, Jones will be extra careful, as he heads that way.

“Ice is the worst thing you can drive on, it’s real dangerous,” Jones said. “You just need to go as slow as you need to go. If it gets too bad sometimes it’s better to stop.”

To check outages in your area, visit NES’ outage map by clicking here: map.datacapable.com