Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen today announced traffic enforcement plans for the Labor Day holiday weekend. The specialized traffic enforcement effort will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 3, 2010, and conclude at Midnight on Monday, September 6, 2010.

Several major events occurring in downtown Knoxville will result in an extremely busy holiday for both residents and tourists. In addition to more than two-hundred thousand people attending the University of Tennessee football game and the Boomsday fireworks show, we can expect an increase of motorists traveling through Knoxville as they take one last summer vacation.

Chief Owen said, "Traditionally, one of the biggest challenges for the department is facilitating traffic flow in and out of the UT area for football traffic as well as traffic in the downtown area for the fireworks show. This is exacerbated by several road closures required for both of these downtown special events."

Road Closures Include:

Henley Street Bridge will close on Saturday night at Midnight
All lanes of the Henley Street Bridge will reopen by 6:00 a.m. Monday
West Bound Neyland Drive from Walnut to Lake Loudoun Boulevard will close at 11:00 p.m. Saturday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. Monday
East Bound Neyland Drive from Lake Loudoun to Walnut will close at 11:00 p.m. Saturday
The Gay Street Bridge will close to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic by 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. The bridge will reopen immediately following the fireworks show
James White Parkway at Cumberland Avenue will close at 3:00 p.m. Sunday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. on Monday
Access to Neyland Drive from Central Street will be shut down at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. on Monday
Access to Neyland Drive from Hall of Fame Drive will be shut down at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday and will remain closed until 6:00 a.m. on Monday For the UT football game, parking on the UT campus will remain off limits except for individuals with parking passes. KAT busses will provide rides from the Civic Coliseum parking garages for a small fee. No parking will be allowed along Neyland Drive.

Chief Owen said, "Officers will utilize directed and saturation patrols to reduce the speed of motorists traveling throughout the city. We will aggressively enforce posted speed limits while looking for motorists who are driving recklessly or who are driving while impaired."

During the 2009 Labor Day holiday traffic enforcement effort officers issued 1,118 traffic related citations. Officers also investigated 62 vehicle crashes. Thirteen (13) of those crashes resulted in personal injuries. The last fatality to be recorded during the Labor Day holiday weekend occurred in 2007.

Chief Owen said, "The best advice to motorists would be to exercise patience while travelling in the heavily congested UT and downtown areas. We would also ask that motorists be alert for our officers directing traffic especially after dark when visibilities are reduced."