TDOT held a public meeting Tuesday to discuss and present new information on the Alcoa Highway Improvements project
The meeting was held at Sevier Heights Baptist Church.
The meeting specifically addressed a section of the project on the Alcoa Highway corridor in Blount County between Little River to Singleton Station Road.
TDOT said it's adding one-way access lanes on both sides of the highway, eliminating left turns across it and creating acceleration lanes for merging traffic.
Tear-drop roundabouts will also be added to the mix to improve access to homes and businesses, and a greenway will be added along the southbound lanes.
"That improves safety because you'll be entering the facility at an angle," director of project development Dexter Justis said. "It eliminates you coming into the facility with high speed traffic approaching you when you're almost at a dead stop."
The project is one of seven planned for the Alcoa Highway corridor, which in total is expected to cost $81 million.
Construction is set to begin by 2021.