Fuel Shortage Has Drivers Watching for Tanker Deliveries

fuel shortage

Traffic was heavy along Hwy. 31 through Williamson County, in part because of a gasoline shortage that has affected the Southeast following the rupture of a pipeline in Alabama.

Gas station after gas station was empty, with bags on the pump nozzles or signs on the pumps.

When tankers showed up, lines of cars would quickly form.

In Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station, the Kroger Marketplace, Shell outlets and Exxon all were empty for much of Saturday morning. The same was true for most stations to the north.

Kroger at Alexander Plaza off Hillsboro Road had gasoline — and a long line — at about 10:30 a.m.

Just afterward a tanker pulled into the Mapco station on Hillsboro near Mack Hatcher Parkway. A line formed around the block in about 10 minutes.

Orange cones blocked the pumps, and a Mapco clerk tried to keep order as some tried to pull in between cones.

“You can’t pump gas yet,” she warned.

A woman hovering near the pumps responded “my car is saying zero miles left.”

Fuel is being trucked in from Knoxville and Memphis, and a state of emergency declared by Gov. Bill Haslam will loosen work rules for drivers hours on the road.

“There could be some spot problems, and slow deliveries to some stations, but the only thing that would really cause a problem is if everyone rushes out and gets gas at once,” said Mike Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Petroleum Council. “Everyone should just go about their normal pattern of filling up, and not rush out to top off their tanks.”

fuel shortage
An out of gas sign at a Mapco station in Franklin on Saturday morning, Sept. 17. // MARK COOK