NEWPORT, Tenn. — Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect the road goes from Greeneville to Maryville, in Tennessee. It previously said the road went to Greenville, North Carolina.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation said crews are working on a bypass letting drivers between Greeneville and Maryville avoid having to drive through downtown Newport.
Currently, TDOT said the roads take drivers through the downtown area. By building the Newport Bypass, TDOT said it will make the route on SR 35 safer and more efficient. TDOT said the project will consist of grading, drainage and construction work. Crews are also expected to build four concrete Bulb-Tee beam bridges — a kind of bridge that uses straight, vertical T-beams.
The Newport Bypass is expected to be around 4.75 miles of entirely new alignment, TDOT said. Crews will also build new signals and paving on SR 35, from SR 9 to Saint Tide Hollow Road.
"Interference with daily traffic should be minimal since nearly all the project is new alignment. The project includes the construction of four bridges," TDOT said on its website.
Two bridges are expected to be located along a five-lane section — the first bridge crossing Stinking Creek and the second bridge crossing Lisega Boulevard, Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Pigeon River. The other two bridges will be located along an interim two-lane section, one crossing the French Broad River Flood Channel and another crossing the French Broad River.
The project is estimated to be complete in the fall of 2025. Construction started in the spring of 2022.