Page 10 - Nov/Dec 2020 Vol 38 No 5
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ALCOA by Lisa Hood Skinner
The City of Alcoa Plays Host to
$39.2 Million TDOT Project
The $39.2 million Alcoa Highway on the National Highway System, through this portion of roadway with
Phase One Project within the City the highway is a major connection their picnic lunches, anticipating a quiet
of Alcoa has been more than two between Knoxville and nearby cities day outdoors.
decades in the making, according in Blount County (Alcoa, Maryville,
to the Tennessee Department of Louisville). It provides the main route Business and leisure air travelers rush
Transportation (TDOT). to McGhee Tyson Airport and also is through it to catch their flights at the
one of the main roadways leading to airport.
But while the massive Blount County key destinations in the Great Smoky
infrastructure project fronting McGhee Mountains National Park (GSMNP). And school buses of local children,
Tyson Airport (and its surroundings) From Peaceful Picnickers to regional commuters, business and office
has been in process more than 20 Motorcyclists Headed to The Dragon workers, truckers and others daily make
years, the changes now underway are the run through that gauntlet.
radically reshaping how traffic will flow Picture the dichotomy of vehicles
through large stretches of US 129/Alcoa driving along this route: motorcycle and Over the years, these motorists’
Highway in Alcoa. sports car enthusiasts drive through in conflicting priorities (and speeds) in
anticipation of “riding The Dragon,” an the corridor have resulted in what
Just how massive IS that traffic flow? 11-mile 318-curve stretch of US 129 the TDOT calls “negative safety and
Mark Nagi, TDOT community relations bordering North Carolina. capacity issues,” leading them to work
officer, said approximately 60,000 countless hours with local officials,
vehicles daily pass in front of the airport Carloads of tourists seeking “the agencies and the public to come up
on US 129/Alcoa Highway. peaceful side of the Smokies” in with a new road configuration and
Townsend and Cades Cove traverse realignment to reduce crashes and
An urban principal arterial roadway improve driver/pedestrian safety.
10 TPW November/December 2020
