Teamwork is probably never more important than it is during a disaster. In January, I talked about TDOT's coordination with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. On February 5, we were putting those words into action.

At least seven tornados touched down on the night of February 5 leaving distinctive paths through west and middle Tennessee, claiming more than thirty lives and injuring nearly 200.

As soon as the first line of storms passed, TDOT crews went to work clearing and reopening the impacted roadways despite more storms on the way.

Crews working in Williamson County had to stop operations and take cover from a second line of storms. Once the second storms passed, the employees were back out there working to clear State Route 46.

In Jackson, TDOT HELP and maintenance crews worked with the Tennessee Highway Patrol to clear 13 tractor trailer trucks which had been tossed and twisted by the storm along Interstate 40.

At the same time, TDOT maintenance crews began assessing damage to the Jackson rest areas and TDOT's two downed radio towers located in Arlington.

By morning, all interstates were clear as were most state routes. At 4:00 p.m. that afternoon all roads were open.

Crews in west Tennessee have removed more than 1,500 loads of debris to date.

Wednesday morning, TDOT's Office of Aerial Surveys took photos of the tornado's path through Sumner, Macon, and Trousdale counties.

TDOT's Geographic Information System Office added information about property lines to the photos and forwarded them to TEMA to help with the identification of impacted properties.

On Friday, TEMA asked TDOT to take the lead on “Operation Tennessee Storm”, a multi-agency debris removal task force in Macon County.

TDOT worked with the National Guard, Departments of Agriculture and Environment and Conservation, and local highway and emergency agencies in Macon County to remove debris from the area.

More than 200 employees and over a hundred pieces of equipment worked at removing debris on February 10. I had the opportunity to travel to Macon County on February 10 and witnessed the work our crews were doing to help Macon County begin the huge task of recovering from the storms.

On February 29, crews completed their mission in Macon County. In all, the task force removed more than 36,664 cubic yards of debris, which equals more than 3,400 dump truck loads of wood chips, brush and other debris.

The spirit of cooperation with every agency involved in this response has been and continues to be tremendous.

I am proud of the many TDOT employees who left their families in the middle of the storm to help clear our roads and keep Tennessee in Motion as well as all the employees who continue to help in the recovery effort.