Igor Blevin's, "A Native Californian in Knoxville" (Maryville: real estate, vehicle registration)
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After living in CA my entire life (except 4 years) until I moved to TN, the traffic to me is really mild compared to what I experienced every day in CA. The rush hour here is actually an hour, not the 3 hours in the AM and 3 hours in the PM we had in CA. The only place I really have encountered an ongoing issue is near the I-40 and I-640 interchange. That area is always messed up, but only for about a mile and a half, not the 20-mile-long bumper to bumper traffic jams I've experienced elsewhere.
Your mileage may vary, but it's pretty easy to avoid traffic here. Live near your job, and don't take the freeway in the downtown area between 4:30 and 6:00 PM, and avoid Alcoa Highway northbound in the AM and southbound in the PM until that construction gets finished.
I live near Farragut. I definitely see I-40 traffic in West Knox. It can pop up anywhere along the way, all the way out to the Turkey Creek shopping center, but it doesn't last all that long and it doesnt seem consistent day to day where it crops up or how long it lasts, or even in which direction.
Surprising to me, is that evening traffic is as likely to be temporarily congested inbound toward downtown, as outbound in the Nashville direction. I assumed evening congestion would only be outbound as commuters flee downtown for the western suburbs. I guess there is not that many people commuting downtown as much as the pattern is suburb-to-suburb.
I have that jaded California perspective from seeing bay area gridlock for 12 years, and Sacramento stop-and-go for another 10 years. It used to take me 45 minutes to get through the line at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. I can see where east Tennessee residents would say traffic congestion is horrible. I am sure it is horrible, compared to 1990 or 2000.
I am starting to think that the congestion depends most on commercial trucking. Say you have a normal level of local traffic at regular times each day. If a pulse of heavy big rigs comes through, it is going to cause congestion among the local traffic. Since the timing and density and direction of commercial trucks changes day to day, so does the specific hours and direction.
It would be interesting to see traffic volumes for I-40. Traffic congestion is definitely worsening and I am sure long time residents can attest to that.
Knoxville is a freight corridor and trucks account for 16% of traffic.
Knoxville is looking into building a freeway bypass for big rigs and other traffic just passing through. That would relieve congestion for local traffic. The bypass is badly need to prevent severe congestion. It would take a very long time to be built and opened. With Knoxville's strong continued growth, by the time the bypass is open, local traffic will probably be much higher and congesting I-40 on its own, without the presence of long haul freight big rigs.
Without a bypass, things are going to get really bad.
I was surprised to hear that Knoxville has 3 of the top 5 highest traffic areas in the Tennessee. I would have expected Nashville. I have been caught in Nashville congestion and thought it was worse than any I have experienced in Knoxville. Maybe Nashville's 2 of the top 5 traffic areas are just horrendous.
I was surprised to hear that Knoxville has 3 of the top 5 highest traffic areas in the Tennessee. I would have expected Nashville. I have been caught in Nashville congestion and thought it was worse than any I have experienced in Knoxville. Maybe Nashville's 2 of the top 5 traffic areas are just horrendous.
This is not the first time that such a bypass has been proposed. Back in the 90s the state proposed to extend I-75 north from where it merges with I-40 west of Knoxville and merge with I-75 north of Knoxville. It was met with fierce opposition, plus the exorbitant price tag was just too much, and by 2010 it was scrapped. Instead, the state improved I-640 and I-275 which helped a little. https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-475-tn/
Those same rolling hills that make Tennessee beautiful also make it ridiculously expensive to build new roads, especially superhighways which require gentle grades, fewer curves, and lots of tunnels and bridges. And since Tennessee is a pay-as-you-go state (no bonds are ever issued for roads) it would be difficult to come up with that kind of money for a single road project at the expense of others.
I've said all along that something needs to be done about the interstate traffic through Knoxville. Continuing to widen I-40/75 is not an option, but something has to give. The state may have to bite the bullet and build that bypass anyway. There's been talk of making it a toll road to help pay for it, but then those same tolls would probably drive (pardon the pun) some people away from using the road which would defeat the purpose of the road. It's frustrating and is one reason I'm glad not to live in Knoxville anymore.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
This is not the first time that such a bypass has been proposed. Back in the 90s the state proposed to extend I-75 north from where it merges with I-40 west of Knoxville and merge with I-75 north of Knoxville. It was met with fierce opposition, plus the exorbitant price tag was just too much, and by 2010 it was scrapped. Instead, the state improved I-640 and I-275 which helped a little. https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-475-tn/
Those same rolling hills that make Tennessee beautiful also make it ridiculously expensive to build new roads, especially superhighways which require gentle grades, fewer curves, and lots of tunnels and bridges. And since Tennessee is a pay-as-you-go state (no bonds are ever issued for roads) it would be difficult to come up with that kind of money for a single road project at the expense of others.
I've said all along that something needs to be done about the interstate traffic through Knoxville. Continuing to widen I-40/75 is not an option, but something has to give. The state may have to bite the bullet and build that bypass anyway. There's been talk of making it a toll road to help pay for it, but then those same tolls would probably drive (pardon the pun) some people away from using the road which would defeat the purpose of the road. It's frustrating and is one reason I'm glad not to live in Knoxville anymore.
Great observations.
I think a new bypass is a pipe dream in the short term, due to prohibitive costs. IMHO, certainly not in my lifetime. I am 65.
It has to be done eventually to allow commerce to flow past what will become a severe bottleneck. At some point, the massive increase in shipping costs from delays to fuel costs, will eventually justify the expenditure for a bypass.
It would also redirect growth from where it is now to adjacent to the bypass, relieving stress on the rest of Knoxville. More new residents growing cities along the new bypass would take pressure off existing infrastructure, as the growth would have a new outlet instead of accerating demand on existing roads, water delivery, sewers, and electrical grid.
The proposed route shown in the WATE 6 video is a LOT of new tarmac and concrete. Bridges are really expensive, which I understand is why it took forever to finish the Foothills Parkway.
I can't see the proposed route being used, but what is the option? Everything else is worse. Ideally you would just widen I-40, but they didn't plan for that or the Knoxville's age just never allowed for a wide corridor through town when I-40 was built. I can't find a history on I-40 through Knoxville or what highway was there before. Was it Kingston Pike or was there a highway along the route of I-40 that as upgraded to interstate. I don't know.
It is going to be an intersting ride, literally, with traffic congestion only getting worse. I have no clue where the state matching funds are going to come from, to capture the needed federal funding.
I guess you could make the bypass a toll road.
Commercial trucking would just pass the cost of tolls along to consumers. Toll costs would be partially offset for commercial trucking by moving along at freeway speeds all the way, instead of sitting in congested traffic. Tolls would also tend to minimize private car drivers and allow commercial traffic to move unimpeded.
This is not the first time that such a bypass has been proposed. Back in the 90s the state proposed to extend I-75 north from where it merges with I-40 west of Knoxville and merge with I-75 north of Knoxville. It was met with fierce opposition, plus the exorbitant price tag was just too much, and by 2010 it was scrapped. Instead, the state improved I-640 and I-275 which helped a little. https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-475-tn/
There sure is a massive cost to waiting.
Think how much cheaper would be following that orange route than the proposed route in the WATE 6 video. They waited until Hardin Valley was all built up and that orange route is impossible. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, but that is human nature. We are so short sighted.
Never mind the orange route would be shorter, and so beneficial to commercial trucking just passing through.
IMO a lot of the pressure could be relieved if the bridge on I-40 W was widened one more lane or two over the I-40 E ramp to 640. That's the place you reliably find a bottleneck. Otherwise traffic isn't too bad outside commuting hours or an accident.
I agree. The bottleneck at I-40/640 (both directions) is the one constant traffic bugaboo that I see. Otherwise, it's always been fine except for major car accidents causing backups. The bypass would've been smart to build years ago, now it'll take another 10 years if they ever even start it.
[quote=Igor Blevin;64480619]I am almost certainly staying in the area around Knoxville, Tennessee and have started home shopping.
I like living in the Knoxville area for its fantastic day-to-day retirement liveablity. Low taxes, low cost of living, peaceful with low crime in outlying areas, very polite and friendly people (southern hospitality is genuine), ample shopping, ample restaurants, gun-friendly, and the scenic beauty of rolling wooded hills and low mountains everywhere.
"Things I dislike about Knoxville are that it is completely unwalkable, the riverfront is under-developed IMHO, the downtown is really small and rink-a-dink, no culture such as museums or live plays (I knew that giong in & what travel is for), and there is a severe excess of fried food restaurants to the detriment of other healthier places I would rather eat. Southern fare is great at 20. Not so much at 65. Still delicious, but..."
There is live theater, but there is not enough local support for it and they struggle. The excellent Flying Anvil Theatre folded due to lack of attendance. I saw a recent production at Theatre Knoxville that was great fun and was happy to see that the performance I attended sold out the small theater. There are always productions at UT. The Knoxville art museum is small, but it brings in interesting exhibits and hosts artist lectures. Admission is free! The McClung museum at UT has special exhibits, so there is often something new to see. I have been to free lectures at the History Museum downtown. I wouldn't at all say that there is "no culture" here.
Your Knoxville/East Tennessee housing update for 2023, from WATE 6 TV news.
I am still house hunting and finding nothing I want west of the Pellissippi Parkway in my $450,000 price range. I will give it one more year before I strongly consider giving up on West Knox and settle for Powell, Halls Crossroads, or Maryville.
It looks like I will be on the sidelines again all 2023. I am waiting for the right home, not for a price reduction or any kind of a "crash". The longer I wait, the more I will have to pay as Knoxville homes are still appreciating on strong demand.
Knoxville is still booming.
The WATE video below is short, but here is the jist of it.
It is still a Seller's Market in Knoxville/East Tennessee.
New homes are selling as fast as they are built, with waiting lists for new construction. No starter homes or affordable homes are being built. Builders are going for maximum profit. Who can blame them when everything is selling?
Existing home inventory is back to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, when supply was still inadequate for the demand, but not massively so.
Existing home sales are slowing and price appreciation is flattening. Area homes will appreciate another 5% this year.
Knoxville median selling price is $318,000, down from $335,000 last May, so sales of luxury homes are probably falling off faster than less expensive homes. The least expensive homes are still being immediately snatched up.
The most expensive areas are Farragut, Concord, Bluegrass, Hardin Valley, and downtown Knoxville. They didn't mention tony Sequoyah Hills, so maybe nothing is even for sale there.
If you keep looking, something will likely come up. I noted your comments about night vision. I had cataract surgery at the end of last year and my night vision improved quite a bit. I am no longer terrified to get behind the wheel of a car after dark. If you haven't had your eyes evaluated, might be something to look into. They are doing cataract surgery at much younger ages than they used to. I was very pleased with my surgeon here in Knoxville. Convenient access to medical care is something I have really appreciated here in west Knox. I broke my kneecap in a fall last year and needed surgery. The surgeon, the hospital and physical therapy were all within an easy 15 minute drive of my house.
Last edited by JMT; 03-19-2023 at 04:58 PM..
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