David Owens stands in the median of Highway 11E in Strawberry Plains Monday.
Weeds are worrying drivers on Highway 11E in Jefferson County in Strawberry Plains. They fear decreased visibility when the weeds grow too tall.
Drivers say when the weeds get too tall, they can't see oncoming traffic, so they fear merging into crossover lanes.
"I just hope there's not a family who loses a family member over this right here," said David Owens, a nearby homeowner.
"We cannot see to pull out on the highway. That's putting everybody's life in danger," said nearby store owner Mark Eslinger.
Grass grew eight feet tall in the medians near the Roadside Market & Deli last summer.
Tuesday, the weeds towered five feet in the air. Motorists tell 10News the medians should be maintained more frequently.
In August 2011, according to TDOT, a contractor was fined $1,000 a day after being two weeks behind on mowing along the highway.
This year, TDOT said a different contractor is mowing the stretch of highway and is not in the wrong yet.
"I believe they're supposed to get that mowing started today [Tuesday] or tomorrow and then they have 10 days to get all of Jefferson County done by then," said Mark Nagi, TDOT spokesperson. "It's an area where the grass seems to grow higher than other areas we deal with in East Tennessee."
You can report high grass on state highways and interstates to TDOT by calling either of the two following numbers. Residents living in Jefferson, Greene or Cocke counties can call (423) 623-1227. Homeowners in Knox, Blount and Sevier can dial (865) 594-2718.