With a major winter storm approaching, officials across Middle Tennessee are urging residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. For first responders and essential workers who must travel, local snow removal plans offer insight into which roads will be cleared first.
Residents can track road priorities and plowing progress using interactive maps from their local cities.
View snow removal maps for:
Breaking down Nashville’s color-coded snow plow system
In Nashville, the Department of Transportation (NDOT) says plowing operations begin when snow accumulation reaches 2 inches or more on roadways. The department uses a three-tier, color-coded priority system to manage snow removal across the city:
Primary Routes (green):
These receive first priority for clearing and include critical roadways that keep the city connected and allow access to hospitals, emergency services and transit routes.
Secondary Routes (yellow):
Once primary routes are cleared, crews shift focus to these connector roads serving residential and commercial areas.
Post-Secondary Routes (blue):
These are addressed last and are cleared only after secondary routes have been completed.
NDOT said its goal is to keep the central business district accessible while ensuring a safe network for emergency routes, hospitals and public transit.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
