Page 7 - May-June 2020 Vol38 No1
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unfamiliar and strange. It’s a heaping pile (or several piles) of Public Works restored traffic signals and
The days that followed feel like a blur memories, and property, and grief. reopened streets.
to me. The aftermath of the March 3rd It didn’t take much assessment to As Nashvillians coordinated large-scale
tornado is the first large-scale natural understand that the cleanup of this storm’s cleanup efforts in neighborhoods, Public
disaster I’ve worked since joining Metro debris was going to be a very big job. Works crews circulated to clear debris from
Nashville Public Works. The one distinct Our fleet of knuckleboom trucks would the curbs. The work to restore homes and
recollection I have from those days is not be able to remove brush as quickly businesses continues now and will continue
the way Nashville’s Office of Emergency and efficiently as was needed to provide for months and years from now. I can’t help
Management and our Public Works relief to residents in hard hit areas. The but be so proud of what the people in my
department immediately rose to the city entered into a contract with a hauling department were able to accomplish in the
challenge of piecing Nashville back company, Crowder Gulf, and was able to weeks following the tornado.
together. And storms like this leave a lot dramatically increase hauling capacity.
of pieces. Nashville is a resilient place. That might
The city also was able to establish sound cliché, but it’s true. Nashville has
In the tornado’s aftermath, 50,000 a contract with Tetra Tech to develop weathered significant natural disasters
homes in Nashville were without power, a process for debris measurement, in in my lifetime (and I’m only 32), yet
116 roads were closed, dozens of traffic order to receive Federal Emergency somehow we persist in our effort to
signals were damaged or without power, Management Agency (FEMA) become a better place to live and work.
and hundreds of private structures were reimbursement for debris removal and
badly damaged or irreparably destroyed. disposal. The tornado hit on a Tuesday I’m writing this from home, where
morning. The contractors were in place by I’m working temporarily, due to the new
And all that property damage creates a Saturday morning. and formidable challenge presented by
lot of storm debris. We call it debris, but COVID-19. I’m so grateful to the people
everyone working at Public Works knows As the days passed, Public Works crews doing the hard work of a city—whether
what it is. It’s the shattered remnants of worked tirelessly with the city’s Office in the aftermath of a devastating tornado,
peoples’ homes. It’s the broken, jagged of Emergency Management to return or during a global pandemic—and I’m
remains of the oak tree in their front the city to some feeling of normalcy. As certainly grateful to those working to
yard that turned bright red in autumn. Nashville Electric Service restored power, ensure Nashville weathers every storm.
34 1-3. Trucks removing debris
on 25th Avenue North
(North Nashville)
4. 7th Avenue North -
A building that was badly
damaged had housed three
businesses on Jefferson
Street
5. Contractor debris
removal truck.
6. Donelson Christian
Academy- looking across
the athletic field
7. Dodson Chapel United
Methodist Church.
7
View online at tnpublicworks.com 7
