Project Update:
Updated 12/17/11 Phase I is now complete with 6 lanes of traffic open between Nichols Street and Boyds Creek Highway. In Phase 2, concrete crews will be working throughout the weekend of 12/17 and 12/18 to complete curbing. Please watch for concrete mixers entering and exiting the roadway. Paving will begin on outside lanes within the next 2 weeks. Watch for short traffic stoppages as utility crews complete connections throughout Phase II. REMEMBER: The speed limit throughout this project has been lowered to 35 M.P.H. You can also follow the progress at www.twitter.com/improving66 or www.twitter.com/blalockconst.
Project Description:
Highway 66 serves as the main connector between Interstate 40 and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County. A growing tourism economy throughout Sevier County has dramatically increased traffic congestion along this route for many years. In 2009, with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Tennessee Department of Transportation began a three-phase project to widen and improve Highway 66 from I-40 to Nichols Street in Sevierville.
Phase 1, which runs from Boyds Creek Highway to Nichols Street, was awarded to Charles Blalock and Sons, Inc. in June of 2009 for $38.7 million. This work was completed in November 2011. Phase 2, stretching from I-40 to Highway 139, was also awarded to Charles Blalock and Sons, Inc. for $23.3 million with an expected completion date of November 2012. Phase 3, which will connect the two previous phases with a widened bridge over the French Broad River, is funded for a 2012-13 bid letting.
Crews from Charles Blalock and Sons and various subcontractors have begun Phase 2 of Improving 66, which includes road widening Highway 66 from Interstate 40 to Highway 139 in Kodak. Crews have begun placing barrels, installing concrete barriers, and clearing shoulder areas to prepare for grading and utility work.
