KODAK, Tenn. — Exit 407 will see a 65% increase in traffic on any normal day once Buc-ee's opens, according to a draft study obtained by 10News.
The study was commissioned by Kituwah LLC, the company developing the area near Exit 407 off I-40 in Kodak. The study said Buc-ee's would generate 15,000 more trips at Exit 407 once it opens. Right now, that side of the interchange handles 23,366 trips on a normal day, according to that draft report.
Developers are planning on Buc-ee's Travel Center opening in the summer of 2023.
"The intersection at 407 'fails' design standards currently under peak traffic events," said Matthew Cross in an email, the CEO of OE Experiences. "Once Buc-ee's opens, the intersection will fail much more frequently — even under average traffic conditions."
Kituwah LLC's study authors consider an interchange failure when queues form on ramps and freeways.
Because developers expect Exit 407 to fail more frequently, they would like leaders to build "Exit 408" to ease the traffic generated by large developments in Kodak.
"Not only do we have tens of thousands of cars come through that access to the county, then you add all this other commercial development," said Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters last October. "It's really going to cause us traffic issues if we don't have an additional exit."
However, TDOT spokesperson Mark Nagi said the state agency would need a final report, and funding secured before it can move forward with a new interchange. The Federal Highway Administration would have to approve the interchange too because I-40 is an interstate highway.
"It's my belief that at every level of government, there is agreement to the need for this exit," Cross said. "This is a major tourism market with a significant revenue impact to the state."
Because of the bureaucratic hurdles, it's unlikely a new interchange would be built before the Buc-ee's opens in Sevier County. However, local hotel owner Sean Patel said he doesn't think tourists will mind waiting in traffic.
"They're not doing 90 miles an hour on the highway. They're doing five miles below the speed limit, because they're not in a rush to get there," Patel said. "They don't have nowhere to be."
Cross said Kituwah LLC will continue to effort a new intersection to ease traffic flow in Kodak.