In September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated towns across northeast Tennessee. The small, rural communities of Elk Mills and Poga in Carter County became even more isolated when the Elk River severely damaged nearby parts of U.S. Route 321.
The section of 321 in the Elk Mills/Poga area was reopened to locals starting Aug. 21, 2025, TDOT spokesperson Mark Nagi told Knox News in a text, but now, more than a year after the catastrophic flooding, the road has fully reopened to all traffic.
It’s a milestone moment in a part of the region where folks’ lives were upended, and daily activities and routines for months became completely different than they were before the disaster…