Alcoa Parkway bypass of Alcoa Highway moving closer to reality

"The purpose is to get rid of traffic congestion on Alcoa Highway, which will turn into a commercial street. It will be our Kingston Pike," Wiggins said. "It's our commercial corridor."

And we want a Kingston Pike in Blount County, why? Have these guys driven out there lately? We've already got two empty car lots on Alcoa Highway. I guess we need some empty strip malls to go with them.

Johnson hopes to pull out the Hunt Road portion from the Hall Road/U.S. 129 Bypass split to just south of McGhee Tyson Airport and construct it first.

"That would be easy to do," Wiggins said.

That area of Alcoa Parkway is going to serve as the main entrance into the 350-acre former ALCOA Inc. West Plant property. Developers Kinsey Probasco Hays (KPH) and International Risk Group (IRG) are planning a $500 million development at build-out, not including inflation.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Everything is becoming much clearer, now.