After receiving widespread objections from nearby residents, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will modify plans to enhance Louisville Road. Department staff will incorporate a bike lane into their plans and will no longer add a concrete barrier that would block left turns on Topside Road.
A representative of TDOT confirmed Wednesday, June 12 that the department plans to move forward with the changes. Work is slated to begin in 2027.
According to Louisville Mayor Jill Pugh, the agreements came from a Friday, June 7 meeting between town officials and TDOT staff requested by Tennessee State Sen. Art Swann and State Rep. Jerome Moon. Pugh said Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell was also in attendance alongside Blount County Commissioner David Wells.
Proposal
The proposed improvements to State Route 334, locally known as Louisville Road, came to the public eye after TDOT staff hosted a town hall meeting to appraise Louisville residents of the planned changes in late March. With the installation of the Smith & Wesson facility just outside town limits, an initial request for work on the intersection of Louisville Road and Proffitt Springs Road by the city of Alcoa in 2021 led TDOT staff to propose adjustments to the roughly-one-mile stretch of highway leading to Topside Road.
To accommodate heavy truck traffic and make the road safer, staff have presented plans to widen Louisville Road’s lanes, add a six-foot shoulder and install a curb and gutter. The work would cut into dozens of homeowners’ properties along the road, shearing some almost in half, Pugh told The Daily Times in April.
More than 200 people have sent comment cards to TDOT after Pugh sent a letter in April urging Louisville residents to take action and make their voices heard.
“Will we be a traffic pass-through town for the businesses and apartments built at our borders?” she wrote. “Or will we be a town that develops to serve the citizens of our town?”
The Daily Times has requested copies of public comments on this project from TDOT.
Modifications
After Friday’s meeting, Pugh said she feels the town has been heard.
“We’re on cloud nine that we’re getting this worked out,” she said.
The changes in question include removing a concrete barrier that would prevent left turns along a section of Topside Road, disrupting traffic to multiple businesses and the Louisville Post Office.
Since Louisville Road is a state highway, TDOT can modify it as the department sees fit for safety and necessity. However, Pugh said staff have pledged to incorporate a bike lane into their plans for the road, connecting the town to planned greenway extensions to Smith & Wesson. That won’t save residents’ property from the effects of the road changes, but Pugh said she viewed a bike lane as a benefit regardless.
The lane will play into future town plans for recreation, she said.
“We have some plans to create some greenway spaces across town, some multimodal paths or whatever we can work out,” she said.
In a public letter posted to the town’s social media and on the town website, Pugh thanked residents for their feedback and also thanked TDOT staff for their willingness to listen.
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