Interstate 40 Tennessee
Interstate 40 enters the Knoxville area from the Great Smoky Mountains area to the east. West of Knoxville, Interstate 40 joins Interstate 75 for 17 miles.
A major reconstruction project is underway along the Interstate 40 corridor near downtown Knoxville. Dubbed SmartFix40, work is designed to tear down and rebuild the Interstate 40 viaduct at Interstate 275 and expand the existing freeway from there eastward to Cherry Street. Included in the project was the September 2007-completed redesign of Tennessee 158 (James White Parkway) and parallel Hall of Fame Drive with an extension of Hall of Fame Drive to a redesigned 5th Avenue interchange. Overall Interstate 40 will carry six lanes of traffic upon completion of the project. See a map of the project area at the SmartFix40 web site.
Once widening of Interstate 40 begins, the entire freeway will close to traffic for a 14-month period. During that time, through traffic will be routed along Interstate 640 to the north. Closure is planned between May 2008 and June 2009.
|
