If you work concrete, asphalt, or demolition in Harriman, Rockwood, or anywhere else in Roane County, you already know the disposal side of the job is where the day gets long. The local public options for construction and demolition debris are thin, most are per-ton, and Saturday drop-offs are hard to line up. So the question is where to take a truckload of broken concrete or asphalt without burning half a day driving.

This is a look at what Harriman-area contractors are actually doing, plus an honest drive-time comparison with the recycling yard route.

Why Harriman C&D Disposal Feels Limited

Roane County has a solid waste program, but heavy C&D material like broken concrete, asphalt chunks, brick, and block is not a great fit for a standard convenience center. Most public sites either won't accept it, cap the load size, or route it to a partner landfill that charges per ton and closes at noon on Friday.

That leaves contractors with two realistic paths:

Haul east toward the Knoxville area C&D facilities
Haul south toward the Chattanooga area landfills

Both work. Both cost time and fuel. And for smaller loads, both can end up costing more than the demo pay was worth.

What Harriman and Rockwood Crews Are Actually Doing

Most of the concrete and asphalt work coming out of Roane County is a mix:

Residential remodels and driveway tear-outs in Harriman and South Harriman
Small commercial work along US-27 and I-40
Shoreline and dock repairs around Watts Bar Lake
Rockwood block and foundation work

The loads coming off those jobs are rarely clean 20-ton piles of just concrete. They are mixed C&D: some concrete, some asphalt, a little rebar, sometimes brick and block. Landfills price that mixed load harder than a pure concrete load, and public facilities can turn it away entirely.

SMSG as the Roane County Alternative

Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel is a recycling yard in Maryville, not a landfill. Concrete and asphalt come in, get processed, and go back out as recycled aggregate. That changes two things for the Harriman contractor:

Flat per-vehicle pricing. No scale ticket, no per-ton math. You know the drop-off cost before you leave the job.
Saturday hours. SMSG is open 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday, which matters when you are burning the weekend to finish a driveway.

The catch is honest to acknowledge: SMSG is east of Harriman. So the question is whether the drive pencils out.

Drive-Time Reality Check

Here is the honest comparison for a Harriman-based load.

| Route | Typical Drive Time | |---|---| | Harriman to SMSG (Maryville) via TN-72 + Alcoa Highway | 40-50 minutes | | Harriman to SMSG via I-40 East + Alcoa Highway | 40-50 minutes | | Harriman to Knoxville area C&D | 30-40 minutes | | Harriman to Chattanooga area landfill | 75-90 minutes |

Knoxville C&D is closer by about ten minutes. That is real, and worth naming. Where SMSG wins for a Roane County contractor is on the other variables:

Saturday morning hours when Knoxville sites are closed
Predictable flat-rate pricing on a mixed load
No scale-house line during peak weekday hours
Recycling instead of burial, which some GCs now require in bid docs

If you value any of those over the ten-minute drive difference, SMSG is competitive.

What SMSG Accepts

You can bring in:

Broken concrete, clean or with rebar
Asphalt millings and chunk asphalt
Brick and concrete block
Mixed C&D loads with the above materials

You cannot bring in:

Trash, wood, drywall, roofing
Dirt or sod
Painted or coated material with unknown coatings
Hazardous material of any kind

If you are unsure about a mixed load, call before you load the truck. It saves everyone time.

How the Drop-Off Runs

The flow at the yard is simple, which is the point.

Pull in during posted hours (Mon-Fri 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat 7 a.m. to noon).
Tell the yard staff what you have.
Get directed to the drop area.
Dump and pay the flat per-vehicle rate for your truck size.

No scale, no ticket, no back-and-forth. Most contractors are in and out in under 15 minutes on-site.

Questions Harriman Contractors Ask

How long is the drive from Harriman, honestly? Plan on 40-50 minutes each way depending on which route you take and the time of day. TN-72 south to Loudon and Alcoa Highway is scenic. I-40 East to Alcoa Highway is faster in light traffic.

Are you actually open Saturday? Yes, 7 a.m. to noon. That is a real advantage if your crews work six days.

Do you set up contractor accounts? Yes. If you are running regular loads from Roane County, call and set it up so you are not paying by card every trip.

Is there a minimum load size? No. Small pickup loads are welcome. The flat per-vehicle rate scales with truck size, so a small load in a pickup does not get priced like a triaxle.

I saw the Kingston post — is this the same info? Kingston is closer to Maryville by about 10-15 minutes on the drive, so if you are actually on the Kingston side of Roane County, the drive-time math looks a little better than what is here. The disposal flow and pricing structure are the same either way.

The Short Version

Harriman C&D disposal is a real problem for local contractors, and the options are not going to expand overnight. If you want a recycling yard with flat pricing and Saturday hours, and you can absorb an extra ten minutes on the drive, SMSG is the honest option to the east.

Running concrete or asphalt out of Roane County? Smoky Mountain Sand & Gravel is set up for contractor drop-offs six days a week at 245 Brookdale Rd in Maryville. Call (865) 999-0857 to talk through your load or set up an account.

Harriman TN Dump for Concrete & Asphalt — Where Roane County Contractors Take It