KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville is expected to host several events over the weekend. On March 30, the Big Ears Festival is expected to start and bring out hundreds of artists along with thousands of fans for a weekend filled with music. On April 2, the 2023 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is also expected to fill the city's streets with runners and athletes.
The Dogwood Arts' Chalk Walk is expected to turn Market Square into a canvas for hundreds of artists while the Smoky Mountain Regional Robotics Competition brings out master engineers and inventors.
There will also be a youth basketball tournament this weekend, and The Eagles are expected to perform in Thompson-Boling Arena on April 1. Knoxville's new professional soccer team, One Knox Sporting Club, is also expected to play their second home match over the weekend.
With so much happening between March 30 and April 2, city leaders planned a list of event-related road closures, detours, driving routes and parking capacity changes.
They said drivers should watch for road closure signage, and some roads will be fully closed while others will only be partially closed. They also said drivers should be careful of pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders who may be visiting the city during the Big Ears Festival.
A list of more specific event-related road closures is available below.
- Big Ears Festival Street Party: Depot Avenue, between Williams and North Central Streets, will be closed from 8 a.m. March 31 through 10 p.m. April 1.
- Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk: The following roads will be closed from 7 a.m. through 6 p.m. on April 1
- Market Street between Union and Church Avenues
- Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay Streets
- Clinch Avenue between Walnut and Gay Streets
- Big Ears Festival Parade: Roads and on-street parking will be closed along the parade route from 11 a.m. through 3 p.m. on April 1. The parade route is listed below
- The New Orleans-style second-line procession will move west on Willow and turn right on N. Central Street, turn left on Jackson Avenue through the Old City, turn right on Gay Street, proceed over the bridge, turn right on Depot and disband into a street party at Depot Avenue and Ogden Street. The depot between Williams and N. Central Streets will stay closed until 10 p.m.
- Covenant Health 5K and Kids' Run: Since World's Fair Park is the marathon's staging area for all events, nearby roads will be closed for most of the weekend, specifically Clinch Avenue between Henley Street and World's Fair Park Drive and World's Fair Park Drive between Clinch and Grand Avenues. The 5K and Kids' Run events last from 4 p.m. through 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Kids’ Run starts at 5 p.m. on Clinch Avenue, goes north on World’s Fair Park Drive, south on 11th Street, makes a loop on Clinch, and circles back to the park.
The 5K race begins at 7 p.m. and takes runners from World’s Fair Park on Clinch Avenue through the Fort Sanders neighborhood, utilizing mostly White Avenue for the westbound path and Forest and Grand avenues for the return trip. These roads and those that cross the race route will be closed to through traffic, including 17th Street, which the route crosses twice.
Drivers in the area during this timeframe should expect to be stopped at intersections that cross the route; KPD officers positioned at road closures will allow cars to cross when there’s a break between runners. - Covenant Health Marathon and Half Marathon: The marathon and half-marathon events last from 7:30 a.m. through 2:30 pm. on Sunday.
Both the half and full marathons begin on Clinch Avenue on the World’s Fair Park, connect to Philip Fulmer Way to Neyland Drive, to Kingston Pike through the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood. The eastbound route goes along Third Creek Greenway, Tyson Park and through the Fort Sanders neighborhood via Forest Avenue to World’s Fair Park. The half marathon ends there, while the full marathon continues through the Old City into the Fourth & Gill neighborhood, takes a loop through East Knoxville including E. Fifth and Washington Ave and crosses Magnolia Avenue at N. Bertrand. The route picks up Martin Luther King Jr Avenue to E. Summit Hill behind downtown to E. Hill Avenue and James White Parkway, with a turn through South Knoxville via Island Home and Sevier avenues before heading back to World’s Fair Park via Gay Street through Market Square.
Knoxville Police Department officers working security for the event will block intersections on the marathon route and allow vehicles to cross with caution during breaks between runners. Closures along Kingston Pike will be limited to one lane, allowing residents attending churches in the neighborhood access to driveways.
Several events are also planned on the University of Tennessee campus. The city said those events don't involve road closures in Knoxville but are expected to bring people to the university's campus and surrounding neighborhoods, which could lead to traffic issues and delays.
They said GPS navigation may direct drivers with destinations on campus to Neyland Drive, but said they have other options such as Joe Johnson Drive, Phillip Fulmer Way, Volunteer Boulevard, 17th Street and Cumberland Avenue.