I sent a request to TDOT with questions about the Alcoa Hwy road changes. Here are the responses from Mark Nagi, TDOT Community Relations Officer, Region 1 (East Tennessee)

Here are the answers to your questions. If you need anything further please let me know.

QUESTION: Will there be a bike lane on the new bridge?

ANSWER: Yes, the new Hunt Rd Bridge will include a 12ft wide multiuse pathway, located behind a concrete barrier wall.

QUESTION: Will the new bridge be a 4 lane bridge?

ANSWER: Yes, there will be 4 lanes on the bridge. One through lane in each direction on Hunt Rd and a designated left turn for the intersections at each end of the new Hunt Rd Bridge.

QUESTION: Will the old Hunt Road Bridge over Alcoa Hwy be closed before the new bridge is opened? Will Hunt Road bridge traffic have to be re-routed when building the new bridge for Hunt Road? If so, where would traffic be re-routed to?

ANSWER: The old Hunt Rd Bridge will have to be closed to construct the new bridge, as it will be constructed in the same location. This closure will be limited to 6 months. Therefore, there will be a designated detour. In State designated detours, TDOT can only use State maintained routes. The detour will run from the South end of Hunt Rd, North along SR334 Louisville Rd to SR333 Topside Rd to Pellissippi Pkwy It will also run from the North end of Hunt Rd north on SR33 Old Knoxville Hwy to Pellissippi Pkwy.

QUESTION: It looks like the road under Alcoa Hwy. is named Tyson Blvd. but then when it gets into the old Alcoa West plant (Springbrook Farms) the name changes to Tesla Blvd. Is this correct?

ANSWER: Yes, the new development route (on the East side of Alcoa Hwy) is Tesla Blvd.

QUESTION: It looks like Tyson Blvd. will go under Alcoa Hwy. Is this correct?
ANSWER: Yes, Tyson Blvd will pass under Alcoa Hwy at this location. The new bridge that passes over Tyson Blvd will be constructed in 2 Phases. This will allow the Contractor to maintain 2 lane of traffic in each direction (4 lanes total) throughout the life of the project. There will be some alignment shifts at this location, but these shifts will be executed while working at night to cause the least disruption to traffic.

QUESTION: It looks like Hunt Road to the West of Alcoa Hwy. will be moved closer to the Airport. Is this correct? Then, it looks like the old Hunt Road will sort of be changed to a green belt walkway that will end at the Ambrose Street intersection. Is this correct?

ANSWER: Yes, the new alignment of Hunt Rd. will shift towards the Airport. The section of old Hunt Rd. East of Whitney St will become an access route for the 5 Lots located on the old alignment. The Lots between Ambrose and Whitney will access the new alignment of Hunt Rd. directly (their driveways will cross the Greenway).

QUESTION: Some of the purple numeric identifiers (in circles) have a line drawn through the circle e.g. properties along Peppertree Drive. What does it mean when there is a line through the number or not? Will the properties on Peppertree that have a circle without the line lose some of their property to a proposed increase in right of way?

ANSWER: Properties that don’t have any takes (ROW or easement) will be struck through. They appear on project, but are not affected by acquisitions. Furthermore, all ROW has been acquired for this project, and there are no pending changes along this section.

QUESTION: There is a red dotted line along Alcoa Hwy. that abuts properties on Peppertree Drive. It says Control of Access (Noise Wall). What kind of wall is proposed? How tall will the wall be?

ANSWER: The wall will be constructed with concrete panels. The Alcoa Hwy side will match the pattern on the retaining wall that is under construction in Knox Co on Alcoa Hwy. The side facing the neighborhood will have a rock pattern that was chosen by the community at a public meeting.

QUESTION: Will the work on this interchange all be done at once? Or will certain sections be done at a time? For example, will the new bridge be worked on at the same time the road is built to go under Alcoa Hwy?

ANSWER: With any construction project, some activities will be dependent on the completion of preliminary activities. On this project, the contractor is following a detailed schedule, and certain sections will be completed before others. However, to compress the overall timeline, it was decided that both bridges will be under construction at the same time.