KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Drivers who use Alcoa Highway in south Knoxville should plan for a slow week, as the Tennessee Department of Transportation starts nightly lane closures Sunday, Oct. 25, near the Cherokee Trail interchange.
The closures run from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night through Thursday, Oct. 29. They affect both directions of Alcoa Highway, also known as US 129 and State Route 115, from Woodson Drive to Cherokee Trail. Cherokee Trail itself also loses lanes between the interchange and Old Cherokee Trail/Medical Center Way. Crews will use the overnight hours to pave and set up coming traffic shifts, so conditions may change from night to night.
Daytime trips will see interruptions too. From Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30, contractors plan rolling roadblocks on the Woodson-to-Cherokee stretch between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., stopping traffic in 20-minute windows that are spread out so the road can clear in between. During the same hours, flaggers will guide drivers at the Cherokee Trail traffic light where the northbound Alcoa Highway ramp meets it, and on Cherokee Trail toward Medical Center Way while trucks unload materials.
The work is part of TDOT’s widening of about 1.6 miles of Alcoa Highway from four lanes to six and a rebuild of the Cherokee Trail/UT Medical Center interchange. Construction on that section began in July 2023. In June, the state pushed the expected finish to spring 2030 after engineers found the walls near Woodson Drive needed added reinforcement, while the piece between Cherokee Trail and the hospital is still slated for fall 2027.
TDOT has said two lanes in each direction will stay open through the project and asks drivers to slow down and expect delays.
Section: More Knoxville TN crime news
Filed under: Knoxville TN Traffic News
