Pellissippi Parkway

Pellissippi Parkway
Route information
Maintained by TDOT
Length: 19.7 mi[1] (31.7 km)
Component
highways:
Major junctions
Western end: SR 62 at Solway
 
Current Eastern end: SR 33 in Alcoa
Highway system
← SR 161SR-162SR 163 →

The Pellissippi Parkway is a highway in Knox and Blount counties in Tennessee. It extends from Tennessee State Route 62 (Oak Ridge Highway) at Solway in Knox County to a terminus east of U.S. Route 129 (Alcoa Highway) in Blount County. The central portion of the Pellissippi Parkway is included in the Interstate Highway system and is designated Interstate 140 (I-140), while portions at either end (a 5.9-mile (9.5 km) long section in Knox County and a short section in Blount County) are designated SR 162, a north–south primary highway.

Route description

Pellissippi Parkway comprises I-140 and two sections of SR-162 that seamlessly extend from either end of the Interstate highway. The northern segment of SR-162 runs 5.9 miles (9.5 km) from SR-62 at Solway south to I-40 and I-75 in Knoxville.[2] I-140 has a length of 11.17 miles (17.98 km) from the junction with I-40 and I-75 to US-129 in Alcoa.[3][4] The southern segment of SR-162 begins at US-129 and runs 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to SR-33 within Alcoa.[5] Pellissippi Parkway from Solway to US 129 is a part of the National Highway System.[6] The predominant roadway configuration along the route is a four-lane divided cross-section.[7]

Solway to Knoxville

Pellissippi Parkway begins at SR-162's northern terminus at a directional interchange with SR-62 (Oak Ridge Highway) at the east end of the village of Solway on the east side of the Clinch River from Oak Ridge. There is no direct access from westbound SR-62 to the parkway. Pellissippi Parkway heads southeast as a partially controlled-access four-lane divided highway. The highway crosses Beaver Creek and has a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with Hardin Valley Road, which leads to Pellissippi State Community College. Pellissippi Parkway has another partial cloverleaf interchange with SR-131 (Lovell Road).

The highway becomes a freeway at its last at-grade intersection just northwest of its partial cloverleaf interchange with Dutchtown Road. There, Pellissippi Parkway enters the western end of the city of Knoxville, expands to six lanes, and is paralleled on both sides by frontage roads south to the parkway's interchange with I-40 and I-75, where SR-162's northern segment ends and I-140 begins. That interchange is a cloverleaf interchange with a flyover ramp from southbound SR-162 toward eastbound I-40 and northbound I-75, which head concurrently toward downtown Knoxville.[1]

Knoxville to Alcoa

Pellissippi Parkway continues south through a partial cloverleaf interchange with Kingston Pike, which carries US-11 and US-70. South of Kingston Pike, the freeway passes along a sliver of the city of Knoxville that follows the freeway to the Tennessee River. Pellissippi Parkway crosses a Norfolk Southern Railway line and the Sinking Creek arm of Fort Loudon Lake ahead of its diamond interchange with Westland Drive. The freeway curves east within its diamond interchange with SR-332 (Northshore Drive); the interchange includes a ramp from the eastbound parkway to Town Center Boulevard. Pellissippi Parkway veers south onto a peninsula within a bend of the Tennessee River, then curves east again to cross the river, which forms the Knox–Blount county line.

At the east side of the river, Pellissippi Parkway enters the city of Alcoa, within which the highway remains to its eastern end. The freeway has a diamond interchange with SR-333 (Topside Road) and crosses a CSX rail line. Pellissippi Parkway curves southeast through a cloverleaf interchange with US-129 (Alcoa Highway), where I-140 ends and the southern segment of SR-162 begins. The freeway has an southbound-only exit for Cusick Road and crosses a Norfolk Southern rail line before reaching its terminus at a half-diamond interchange at SR-33 (Old Knoxville Road).[1]

History

When first built, the Pellissippi Parkway was a four-lane divided highway in Knox County, extending from State Route 62 at Solway to an interchange with I-40/I-75 in western Knox County. The portion of Pellissippi Parkway from I-40/I-75 in Knox County and Tennessee State Route 33 in Blount County was constructed in four sections beginning in 1987. The first section, which crosses the Tennessee River to connect Northshore Drive in Knox County with US 129 in Blount County, was completed in 1992, providing more efficient access to the McGhee Tyson Airport from Oak Ridge and Farragut. The Mabry Hood House, an antebellum home located on the south side of Kingston Pike, was demolished in the project to extend the Pellissippi Parkway south of I-40/I-75. The next section of the project, which opened in 1997, installed a new interchange with I-40/I-75 and provided a limited-access connection from that interchange to the Northshore Drive interchange. In 2003 a third section was opened in Blount County, extending from US 129 to Cusick Road opened in 2003, and the most recent section, from Cusick Road to Tennessee State Route 33, opened in late 2005.[8] Plans call for extending the highway eastward about 4.4 miles (7.1 km) to U.S. Route 321 (Tennessee State Route 73) in Blount County.[9]

As of 2003, SR-162 was applied to an 5.9-mile (9.5 km) long route in Knox County; its southern terminus was with I-40 where I-140 begins, and its northern terminus was with State Route 62 at Solway. Additionally, as of 2005 the eastward highway extension of I-140 east of U.S. Route 129 (Alcoa Highway) in Blount County, Tennessee was signed as SR 162. Plans call for extending the highway eastward to U.S. Route 321 in Blount County, Tennessee.[9] Originally, the highway that is now designated as I-140 was designated SR 162 and Pellissippi Parkway. The state route designation was dropped when the central portion was accepted into the Interstate Highway system as I-140, but the entire route of SR 162 and I-140 from Solway to SR 129 is still known as Pellissippi Parkway.

Origin of name

Pellissippi (also spelled "Pelisipi") appears on early maps as the name of the Clinch River. It is said to have been the Cherokees' name for the river and is said to mean "winding waters" in the Cherokee language.[10]

Future

A 4.4 mile extension project is underway in Blount County from SR 33 (Old Knoxville Highway) to a terminus at SR 73/US 321 East (Lamar Alexander Parkway) between Maryville & Walland. An exit is proposed at US 411 in Maryville. [11]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi
[1]		kmExitDestinationsNotes
KnoxSolway0.00.0– SR 62 (Oak Ridge Highway) – Oak Ridge, KnoxvilleNorthern terminus of SR-162; directional interchange; no direct access from westbound SR-62 to southbound SR-162
​2.43.9–Hardin Valley Road – Pellissippi State Community CollegePartial cloverleaf interchange
​3.65.8– SR 131 (Lovell Road) – Tusculum CollegePartial cloverleaf interchange
Knoxville4.67.4–Dutchtown RoadPartial cloverleaf interchange
5.99.51 I-40 / I-75 – Knoxville, Nashville, ChattanoogaSouthern terminus of northern segment of SR-162; western terminus of I-140; split into exits 1C (I-40 east / I-75 north) and 1D (I-40 west / I-75 south) westbound; I-40/75 exits 376A-B
6.410.31 US 11 / US 70 (Kingston Pike)Split into exits 1A (US-11 north / US-70 east) and 1B eastbound (US-11 south / US-70 west)
8.814.23Westland Drive
10.516.95 SR 332 (Northshore Drive) / Town Center BoulevardAccess to Town Center Boulevard from eastbound I-140 only
Tennessee River14.5–
14.8		23.3–
23.8		Bridge across Fort Loudon Lake
BlountAlcoa15.625.19 SR 333 (Topside Road) – Louisville
17.027.411 US 129 (Alcoa Highway) – Alcoa, Maryville, KnoxvilleEastern terminus of I-140; northern terminus of southern segment of SR-162; split into exits 11A (south) and 11B (north)
17.728.5–Cusick RoadSouthbound exit and northbound entrance only, no exit number
19.731.714 SR 33 (Old Knoxville Highway) – Rockford, Maryville, Eagleton VillageCurrent southern terminus of SR-162 and Pellissippi Parkway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Traffic

As of 2010, daily traffic counts on the Pellissippi Parkway corridor ranged from 29,500 to 65,400.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Google (2013-08-18). "Pellissippi Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  2. ↑ Google (2013-08-18). "Tennessee State Route 162 (northern section)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  3. ↑ DeSimone, Tony (October 31, 2002). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of October 31, 2002". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  4. ↑ Google (2013-08-18). "Interstate 140" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  5. ↑ Google (2013-08-18). "Tennessee State Route 162 (southern section)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  6. ↑ National Highway System: Knoxville, TN (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. October 1, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  7. 1 2 Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (March 2013). "Knoxville Regional Transit Corridor Study Final Report" (PDF). pp. 10–11.
  8. ↑ U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and Tennessee Department of Transportation, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Pellissippi Parkway Extension (SR 162), From SR 33 (Old Knoxville Highway) to US 321/SR 73/Lamar Alexander Parkway, Blount County, Tennessee, April 2010
  9. 1 2 "State Route 162 (Pellissippi Parkway Extension)". Tennessee Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Pellissippi State Story 1974-1998". Pellissippi State Community College. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013. Note: The Cherokee origin of "Pellissippi" is questionable, as there is no “P” sound in the Cherokee syllabary (D. Ray Smith. "View of the Bear Creek Valley". Retrieved July 24, 2013.).
  11. ↑ https://news.tn.gov/node/11112

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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