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Bumpy Road In Store For Yard Sale Vendors

4,468 views · Published 6 August 2012 · 2:23 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2012 · News & Politics

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by Alyssa Spirato The World's Longest Yard Sale - kicks off, Thursday. It goes more than 600-miles,  starting in Alabama, and going all the way to Michigan.But there's a bump in the road, literally, on the Signal Mountain stretch. The Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to resurface a part of US 127, just days before the event. The project covers a 5 mile stretch of the highway. Some vendors NewsChannel9 spoke with are worried, others aren't giving it a second thought. If you've been to the world's longest yard sale in the past decade, you would have seen Earl Grimes at every one of them. With him, thousands of antique and rare items, some dating back to the 1800's. This is just a hobby for Grimes,  but he says making a little extra cash doesn't hurt. He has high hopes for business this year, but he's now skeptical after hearing about the roadwork."I'm hoping it's going to be great. But you can't never tell. Not only that, but the roadwork now could slow a little of it down because it might keep all the locals away," says Grimes.The event starts this Thursday.He says he was shocked to hear the news, especially with TDOT'S plan to start working on the road just 3 days before."The City of Chattanooga knew this was going on, they knew this was going on. And it seems like they know the traffic's going to be running slow and piled up. It seems like it's going to be give them just as much as a headache as it will us before it's up,"says Grimes.But not all vendors think alike. Gene Lowe depends on events like these and the internet, selling antique items to make a living. But he's not thinking twice about the roadwork."As long as they shut down the machines, you know, the lanes will be open, they'll just slow down a little bit. There's no traffic speeding around here during the yard sale anyway, it's bumper to bumper all week," says Lowe.Even with the threat of delays on the roadways, he still thinks this year  will be a good one."This is Christmas, and Easter, and Valentines for people that like this kind of stuff all rolled into one. I mean, they're coming.They come from Texas, and Florida, and New England, I mean they come from everywhere," says Lowe.A representative from TDOT says the company doing the roadwork will not be allowed to work on the road at any time during the event. The work is expected to be completed by the beginning of September.

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