Alcoa Parkway public hearing set Tuesday

A public hearing on the proposed Alcoa Parkway will be held Tuesday in Alcoa.

Tennessee Department of Transportation scheduled the hearing from 5 to 7 p.m. in the City of Alcoa Service Center, which is off Wright Road on Universal Drive.

The Alcoa Parkway is to serve as a bypass, routing through traffic around the congested area at McGhee Tyson Airport and the Motor Mile.

The Parkway will have three lanes running in each direction north and south starting at the Hall Road and U.S. 129 Bypass split. There will be a median in the middle.

“In general the Parkway will run parallel and east of Alcoa Highway from Hunt Road to Singleton Station Road,” said Alcoa Public Works Director Kenny Wiggins.

“It will be a controlled-access highway with interchanges at Hunt Road, McGhee Tyson Airport, near the Wright and Cusick roads intersection, at Pellissippi Parkway and at Singleton Station Road near Pine Lakes Golf Course,” he said.

“Once the road is built the plan is to install traffic lights on Alcoa Highway. It would be similar to Kingston Pike in Knoxville,” Wiggins said.

The original plan calls for traffic lights at both entrances to the airport, Wright Road, Airbase Road/North Park Boulevard, Airway Drive and Singleton Station Road south of the Parkway interchange with Alcoa Highway, he said.

The Alcoa Parkway has been in the works for 10 years since 2000 with the city working with TDOT.

TDOT is expected to have money to purchase the Parkway right of way in its budget for next year.

A public hearing on the environmental impact statement was held June 29, 2004.

TDOT officials will be on hand with maps to discuss the project with the public and get input.