Proposed Routing
Interstate 475 (designated on some planning documents as Tennessee 475 and referred to as the Knoxville Regional Parkway in the press) is the proposed designation for the planned outer bypass of Knoxville for Interstate 75 in northeast Tennessee. Announced by TNDOT on July 31, 2002, the 36.5-mile "Orange Route" was selected out of three potential routings for the freeway (the others were the Blue Route and Green Route). The Orange Route includes 24 miles of new route, an existing section of Interstate 75 (6 miles), and an existing section of Interstate 40 (7 miles). The alignment will carry Interstate 475 through western and northern Knox County where expected traffic counts range from 16,600 - 56,500 vehicles per day (vpd).1
In 1977 the corridor was first mentioned as a possibility to alleviate growing traffic congestion on the existing highway system. A study followed in 1994 at the request by the Knoxville Metropolitan Planning Organization for a western belt of Knoxville. In 2002 the The Knoxville Transportation Planning Organization approved $3.6 million in funds to complete the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and for other preliminary engineering. Additionally the possibility of an extension eastward to Sevier County may be included for the project in the future. The estimated cost for the overall project is $287,411,900.1
The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced on November 10, 2003, that Interstate 475 and nearby the Interstate 140 extension projects will go forward. Planners are now working on the design of the highway, gathering public input on alignment aspects and interchange locations. The proposed routing of the freeway has been very controversial, and the iterative process with the community is continuing as the final environmental review process was underway in 2004.3
Apparent resolution was reached at some point thereafter. In June 2006, the Tennessee Department of Transportation announced that the Hardin Valley (Orange Route) will go forward, with an effort made to spare houses along its path.5 However, some property owners may take legal action to stop the completion of the route.
If built, the freeway would carry between four to six lanes, and it will likely see land acquisition beginning in 2008 and environmental studies in 2006-2008. Construction is estimated to take up to 15-20 years to complete, suggesting the route will be fully open in 2028.2, 5 The total project cost of the Orange Route of Interstate 475 was $270 million in 2003 ($125 million less than an alternative northerly path originally also considered) and was listed as $570 million as of June 2006.5
However, the community process to determine the actual route, which is accomplished through TennDOT's Context Sensitive Solutions, was delayed due to disagreement on the citizen advisory panel. The delay lasted for about a year.4, 5 Only two interchanges along the route are proposed: Pellissippi Parkway and Clinton Highway.5
|
