The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is constructing major improvements to Alcoa Highway (State Route 115, US 129) in Knox and Blount counties. The DOT dreamed big on this one – so big that the 13-mile project was divided into seven segments (three are done).
Traffic usage outgrew Alcoa Highway’s design. Knoxville-to-airport traffic wanted a limited-access, high-speed road, while businesses and residents needed to slow and stop traffic on the main road to access their homes and stores. “Airport Motor Mile” became “Airport, Can’t Get There.”
The improvements extend from SR 35 (Hall Road) to Cherokee Trail (at UT Medical Center)…