Tennessee State Route 475
Interstate 475 (I-475)/State Route 475 (SR 475) was a proposed Interstate highway and state highway in Knox and Anderson counties, within the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The proposed route would have allowed through traffic on I-75 to bypass the city of Knoxville. It was planned to begin at the I-40/I-75 split and travel northeast through the communities of Solway and Bull Run, then join I-75 again northwest of Heiskell.[1]
Knoxville Parkway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Existed | 1990s–2010 | |||
History | Cancelled | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ||||
North end | ||||
Highway system | ||||
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Route description
I-475/SR-475 was proposed as a four-lane divided highway with full access control and a 70 mph (110 km/h) design speed. Upon completion, this route was expected to be added into the National Highway System and would have also been designated as a Tennessee Scenic Parkway or State Scenic Highway.[2] This route was also being studied by TDOT as a potential toll corridor and may have been planned to be extended to I-40 near mile marker 407.[2] The route would have served as an outer bypass to Interstate 640.
History
With the idea originally conceived in the mid 1990s, the Knoxville Parkway was dubbed the "orange route" in the press. The route was cancelled on June 25, 2010 due to changing traffic needs and high cost. The "no build" option was selected because projections showed that it would divert less traffic from I-40/I-75 than previously expected, and the estimated one billion dollar expense was deemed prohibitive.[3]
See also
United States portal U.S. Roads portal
References
- "Knoxville Parkway". Archived from the original on November 5, 2006. Retrieved November 14, 2006.
- "SR 475 Conceptual Feasibility Study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 11, 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2008.
- "TDOT Selects "No Build Option on Knoxville Parkway Project". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2010.