Bypass construction to close Newport road for 6 months

NEWPORT, Tenn. (WATE) — The Newport Police Department has announced that a portion one of the town’s roads will be closed for the next six months as crews work to install the Newport Bypass.

According to Newport Police, the closure of part of Cope Boulevard will begin on Monday, September 16 at 8 a.m. The closure will be just past where Cope Boulevard intersections with Tevet Way, which was just renamed from Cherry Street.

The State of Tennessee will be placing signs around Newport Utilities to announce the road closure, which is expected to last approximately six months.

Notably, the closure may impact those travelling to the Newport Wastewater Treatment Plant if they previously used Cope Boulevard. According to Google Maps, it may be possible to get around the closure by taking Industrial Road from US-25E, and then turning onto Chemwood Drive which turns into Cope Boulevard.

In 2023, The Tennessee Department of Transportation announced that there would be road closures along State Route 35 for the construction of the Newport Bypass. At the time, TDOT explained that the project is designed to create a safer and more efficient route to pass through Newport, instead of drivers needing to go through downtown.

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