Lines Still Long At Nashville Stations

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It has been a day that has tested the patience of people across the Nashville area.

Reminiscent of gas pump lines in the 1970s, people waited in lines for hours just to fill up their gas tanks.

American Automobile Association estimates 85 percent of the gas stations in the Nashville area are dry. An Exxon station in Metro Center is one of the few exceptions, lines of vehicles wrapped around the parking lot.

As the sunset over Nashville Friday, long lines lingered for blocks as people waited to fill up. People crisscrossed the city, pulling in and out of gas stations where gas nozzles were covered, indicating that the station was out of fuel.

Barbara Miller and her husband got a pinch of that pain earlier in the day.

"All those people waiting for gas. They're blocking the drive. They're blocking the street and everything," Miller said.

The scene at Old Hickory Boulevard and Franklin Road played out across the greater Nashville Friday. It was slow going to the pumps especially when you run out of gas while waiting. A woman's tank went dry as she traveled through town.

"Didn't have any clue about what was going on here in Nashville. All of the sudden I'm here. I'm out of gas, and there's no gas anywhere," she said.

A man in a Prius hybrid car didn't have a clue either; he thought he was simply stuck in traffic.

"Yeah, I got an eighth of a tank left and that'll go another four or five days in this hybrid. So I am outta here," he said.

There is a light at the end of the gas pipeline. More fuel is on its way to Tennessee.

"I think this is going to go on for a little bit longer, meaning a few days longer," said Gov. Phil Bredesen. "But, there's nothing fundamentally wrong. It's just a matter of putting those refineries on line and getting backup."

Until then, "Lord give us strength to endure this, to endure this. I'm telling you," said one motorist.

Gas suppliers shipped 450,000 barrels of fuel to Nashville Thursday and the pipeline that carries gas to the area is up and running, but only at about a quarter of its capacity. Nashville is really the only area in Tennessee dealing with this problem.