KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Drivers on Alcoa Highway may face traffic and delays as part of road construction projects, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
Mark Nagi, a spokesperson for the department, said starting Monday contractors will perform rolling roadblocks on Alcoa Highway between Woodson Drive and Cherokee Trail. He said the rolling roadblocks would take place in short intervals, lasting around 20 minutes each, and would be spaced out to allow the flow of traffic to return to normal between roadblocks.
They will be intermittent between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will let crews safely use equipment and install construction entrances, and install erosion control devices.
Starting Sunday, road construction projects will also shift the traffic alignment on northbound lanes from the Blount County line to John Sevier Highway. The change will give contractors room to work on the center lanes of Alcoa Highway in the area.
As part of this alignment change, drivers heading north on Alcoa Highway and exiting onto John Sevier Highway or Topside Roade will need to exit along a new alignment just north of the Little River Bridge.
Both construction project is part of work TDOT has done to widen Alcoa Highway from SR 35 to Cherokee Trail. The department also plans to redesign intersections at Topside Road and John Sevier Highway to provide access to Alcoa Highway via on-ramps and off-ramps. Crews will build four new bridges as part of the construction plans.
"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," said Nagi.
