A rock slide in east Tennessee has closed a highway in both directions--just weeks after another slide crippled a main road joining the state with North Carolina

Polk County officials say the slide began around 6am Thursday, dumping dozens of large boulders in the middle of US highway 64.

Officials with the Tennessee department of transportation have started removing some pieces, but say they'll need to blast the larger ones before removing them.

This stretch of highway would be an alternate route around last month's rock slide on interstate 40 at the North Carolina / Tennessee border.

There's no word on how long it will take to clear the debris.