Many years ago the City of Alcoa convinced TDOT that TDOT's plan to fix Alcoa Hwy. from Pellissippi Parkway to Hunt Road was not good for area business. Instead the city paid for a separate plan to waste 400 acres of land and 50-100 million dollars for a 2.5 mile "bypass" to ease traffic.

Part of the project has been recently completed. This section gave access to a planned downtown Alcoa, which has been in the works for 15 years or so. Currently there is an apartment complex being built, a new hotel is open, and two existing businesses in Alcoa are moving to the site leaving empty buildings elsewhere.

Not much of a downtown, but hey, money is flowing. More money from the city, and therefore taxpayers, will be needed. Especially since the maintenance of the old Alcoa Highway will be the responsibility of the city.

Yes, the City of Alcoa will have to take over the maintenance of Alcoa Hwy. From Pellissippi to the airport.

"The entire scope of the project, as recommended by the study, would include four lanes, attachment to the greenway system, linear open park space, bike lanes, new traffic light signals, medians with low maintenance landscaping, realigning the roadway, removing three of the six business access points and installing the same lighting as is in Springbrook Farm."

"But it is costly."

"City Manager Mark Johnson said in a briefing on Friday [June 24, 2022] that the extent of remodeling the roadway the city is able to do will be decided by how much grant money it receives."