Officials are seeking input on a new phase of the major Foothills Parkway project.
Are changes coming to the spur connecting Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg? Yes, probably. Eventually. Growing up on the quiet side of the Smokies, the Foothill Parkway was little more than a rumor for most of my life. There was an on-ramp over by Wears Valley. However, it was blocked off for years, maybe decades. The Foothills Parkway existed in other parts of the mountains. But for us? The oldest still-in-progress public works program. Then, in 2018 sections 8E and 8F were finished and there it was in all its beautiful glory. I finally got to take that on-ramp.
Now, thoughts have turned to section 8D – a 9-mile stretch that would connect Wears Valley to the Spur – so how will that affect your Sevier County vacation?
Government officials are in a public input phase for Section 8D of the Foothills Parkway – a scenic highway designed to give visitors more views of the park. The 9-mile section would connect the current road in Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur, the road that runs through the park between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
IN THIS ARTICLE
What is the Foothills Parkway?
The Foothills Parkway is a 72-mile stretch of road designed to connect U.S. 129 – aka the Dragon – South of Maryville through the Smoky Mountains to I-40 near Hartford at the Tennessee-Carolina state line.
But it’s more than that. It is probably the oldest unfinished public works project in Tennessee, at least one of the oldest unfinished highway projects in the state. FDR was president and the country was still in the midst of WWII when Congress approved the construction of the highway – but not the funding.
Things didn’t exactly get off to a speedy start. The right-of-way acquisition was slow out of the gate. But now the government does own the right-of-way for the length of the road. There were 8 planned sections, 8A through 8H, and work began in earnest in the 60s. Sections 8A, 8G, and 8H were finished in the 60s. Then, the project went into hibernation.
Construction began on sections 8E and 8F in the late 70s but ran into environmental issues and the route was redesigned. Construction began again in 1994 and the sections finally opened in 2018.
The slow construction isn’t exactly unprecedented. However, the Parkway’s delays seem to be the most extensive. The Blue Ridge Parkway was finished in the mid-80s and the Natchez Trace Parkways began in 1939 and was finished in 2005.
Now, the government is moving ahead with public input for the part of the Parkway between Wears Valley and the Spur. It has not been funded, but there is at least some discussion.
What is the Spur?
The Spur is a 4.2-mile section of U.S. 411 connecting Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River runs between north and southbound lanes and – despite the traffic – people frequently pull over to hang out near or in the water. It is among the most highly trafficked roadways in the National Park serving an average of 49,000 vehicles per day. The Spur is also part of the Great Smoky Mountains Parkway which runs through the mountains and connects Gatlinburg to Cherokee, North Carolina. It is called the Spur because it is considered a branch of the Foothills Parkway. As such, it was the first finished section of the Foothills Parkway.
In recent years, there have been changes planned and achieved to accommodate growth in the area around the spur – also the reason for the infamous no-honking rule in the Spur’s tunnel. With more people living or visiting the periphery of the Spur, better on and off access has been needed. What will change on the Spur when it is finally connected to the larger Parkway? I think it’s hard to say. The project – improbably – remains in the planning stage. Will the direct connection to Wears Valley and Maryville mean a significant increase in traffic?
What’s changing on the Spur?
It’s hard to say what the new project will look like until the 8D section is built. Will it be faster to bypass Pigeon Forge traffic? Will drivers from Maryville and South Knoxville find the Parkway a better option? Or will it mainly be used for scenic purposes? A beautiful drive through the mountains?
If you’re going to Gatlinburg from Townsend, Wears Valley or Maryville, would the Parkway be faster than Little River Gorge Road? The answer to those questions will ultimately decide what changes on the Spur.
When will it happen?
Truthfully, I doubt the completion of the Parkway will happen in my lifetime. After all, this is a project for which planning began before its 1944 approval in Congress. Also, It is only a little better than halfway done. For some perspective, my grandmother – who passed last year at the age of 96 – was 17 years old when Congress approved the project. And even now it doesn’t seem like anybody is in what you’d call a hurry.
Once construction starts, Parks Spokesperson Emily Davis said it could take up to a decade due to a variety of factors. And again, the project has not been funded.
The construction of section 8D is at least possible in the coming years. But I wouldn’t start adjusting your vacation plans any time soon. It might be nice if everyone would get geared up and try to finish in the year 2044 for the 100th anniversary. But even that seems ambitious.
In summary, a mountain roadway construction project that has been underway for generations is again taking a hesitant step forward with public input on section 8D which would connect the Spur to the Wears Valley terminus of the Parkway. However, there is no indication that any real changes to the Spur and its traffic flow would be expected for years to come.
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