ALCOA, Tenn. — Alcoa Highway is in the middle of a multi-year construction plan from TDOT which means some lanes will be redirected.
"There could be increased traffic within this area and also workers present so we need motorists to use extreme caution and go a little bit slower," Mark Nagi, a spokesperson for TDOT, said.
Earl Whaley owns a business along the highway across from where the new Amazon warehouse opened. Whaley said that this is one of the most dangerous parts of the highway and it hasn't been touched yet.
"There's a lot of travel on this road," Whaley said. "So many places that people can turn on and off of. But with the heavy traffic, that doesn't work out too well."
Whaley's seen multiple crashes just in the last year outside of his business.
"I'm concerned for the safety of my employees and the general public," he said.
The current Alcoa plan from TDOT is broken into 7 different sections of the highway and parts of the highway in both Blount and Knox counties. Two sections have already been completed and two more are under construction.
Whaley said that the dangerous road needs a faster fix, not the multiple years TDOT estimates it may take.
"We have fallen behind on updating the highway and We need this project completed for the safety of the people. And it needs to be sooner rather than later," Whaley said.