Special Opportunities

The Tennessee Technology Corridor

Map 12: Proposed Transportation Improvements in the Technology Corridor

Background
The Tennessee Technology Corridor was established in 1983 by state legislation creating the Tennessee Technology Corridor Development Authority (TTCDA). A grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission allowed a team of consultants to develop a concept plan and guidelines addressing setbacks, lot coverage, signs, landscaping, lighting, access, and architecture. MPC wrote a comprehensive plan based on the consultant’s work, and this plan was adopted by the Knox County Commission in 1984. The result was a 7,000-acre technology overlay zone, stretching through northwest Knox County along the Pellissippi Parkway, north of I-40/75. In April 1999, the operations of TTCDA were turned over to MPC. Applications for building permits, grading permits, sign permits, and rezoning certificates are assigned to the TTCDA staff, and their recommendations are considered by the TTCDA Board of Commissioners at monthly meetings.

Changes to the Land Use Plan
The primary land use goal is to encourage technology and related land uses while conserving the area’s forested ridges, rolling hills, and stream corridors. The zoning is fairly flexible and allows most types of office and light industry, with limits on retail and residential development. The corridor’s existing development pattern is well suited to the planned expansion of technology uses as well as a variety of mixed uses including office and limited commercial to complement the existing development. The large tracts of land along the Pellissippi Parkway currently zoned Business and Technology Park (BP/TO) are conducive to park-like developments for office and technology base uses. Changes in the land use plan for the Technology Corridor include:

• Light Industrial/Warehousing in the Lexington Drive vicinity, recognizing development trends in that area
• Mixed-use development, allowing technology-based office, medium-density residential and site-serving retail uses along Sherrill Boulevard
• Mixed-use development between Lovell Road and Hardin Valley Road, based on a comprehensive program involving the area landowners to address road extensions, locations for office and technology-based uses, ridge protection and a maximum proportion of medium density residential uses
• Office development along Schaeffer Road
• Extension of Technology Park uses along George Light Road, east of the parkway

The guidelines for this comprehensive program will be created in the forthcoming update of the Tennessee Technology Corridor Plan.

A more detailed update of the TTCDA Comprehensive Plan is anticipated to be ready for consideration by TTCDA and MPC by October 2003. Any changes to the TTCDA Comprehensive Plan that result in recommendations different from the Northwest County Sector Plan will be considered as amendments to the sector plan and presented for adoption by TTCDA and MPC.

The Pellissippi Parkway is an important link between Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and Blount County.

Much of the office development within the corridor is located in park-like settings with emphasis on landscaping and quality architectural features.

Transportation Trends and Deficiencies
The major roads servicing the Technology Corridor are I-40/75, Pellissippi Parkway, Oak Ridge Highway, Lovell Road, Hardin Valley Road, Dutchtown Road, Bob Gray Road, Sherrill Boulevard, Yarnell Road, Solway Road, Cogdill Road and Murdock Drive. Traffic count data from 1992 through 2002 was analyzed to show the growth of traffic on sector roadways. Among the roads within the Technology Corridor that experienced the highest increase in traffic since 1992 are Dutchtown Road, Solway Road, Schaeffer Road, Pellissippi Parkway, Hardin Valley Road and I-40/75.

Table 15: Traffic Counts within the Tennessee Technology Corridor

Road	Location	1992	1997	% Change 1992-1997	2002	% Change 1997-2002
I-40/75	W. of Pellissippi Pkwy	56,855	94,170	+65.6%	105,182	+11.7%
I-40/75	E. of Pellissippi Pkwy	82,000	110,820	+35.1%	133,308	+20.3%
Cogdill Road	S. of Lexington Drive		3,688		2,040	-80.8%
Pellissippi Pkwy	N. of I-40/75	33,902	43,374	+27.9%	54,803	+26.3%
Pellissippi Pkwy	S. of Oak Ridge Hwy	28,550	31,673	+10.9%	38,432	+21.3%
Lovell Rd.	N. of Gilbert Drive	11,192	11,563	+3.3%	11,771	+1.8%
Dutchtown Road	E. of Pellissippi Pkwy		1,881		7,210	+283.3%
Mabry Hood Road	S. of Bob Gray Road		2,981		3,020	+1.3%
Carmichael Road	W. of Pellissippi Pkwy		927		950	+2.5%
Schaeffer Road	N. of Lovell Road		1,081		1,620	+49.9%
Hardin Valley Road	W. of Pellissippi Pkwy	6,651	5,820	-14.3%	7,179	+23.4%
Solway Road	N. of Hardin Valley Rd		2,982		6,310	+111.6%

Many of the existing roads in the Technology Corridor were built prior to its creation and are not suited to handle the transportation demands associated with technology and office park uses. The lack of a defined road network has reduced the developability of many parcels and has left others with no access other than Pellissippi Parkway. Sections of Pellissippi Parkway are paralleled by a road that provides access to adjacent parcels. Only in the case of Sherrill Boulevard and Cogdill Road to the south end of the Technology Corridor are these roads capable of handling transportation demands. As a result, several parcels along Pellissippi have been developed and granted at-grade access with the Parkway, creating several conflict points with potentially hazardous turning movements across travel lanes and a mixing of vehicles with different travel speeds.

Transportation improvements for the Technology Corridor are included in the Long Range Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program. In addition, this sector plan and Tennessee Technology Corridor Comprehensive Development Plan may recommend transportation improvements that would be beneficial to the development of the Technology Corridor. One such recommendation is the creation of a Pellissippi Parkway Access Plan.

There have been ten at-grade access points identified along Pellissippi Parkway and its interchange ramps that can be eliminated through the development of an adequate surface road network.

1. Odin Street
2. Centerpoint Boulevard
3. Carmichael Road
4. Schaeffer Lane/ West Knox Utility District
5. Schaeffer Road
6. Coward Mill Road
7. Horseshoe Bend Lane
8. George Light Road, northbound
9. George Light Road, southbound
10. Solway Road

There are no traffic control devices for any of the at-grade access points along Pellissippi Parkway. The majority of these access points include a median cut along the parkway, with the exception of Odin Street and Horseshoe Bend Lane, which allows for the free movement of traffic across travel lanes. Very few access points contain acceleration/deceleration lanes, which creates a mixing of traffic speeds along the parkway.

Odin Street is the lone access to Parkway Heights Condominiums. It is a residential street on the west side of the parkway with no median cut and access to southbound lanes only. Traffic attempting to enter the development from northbound Pellissippi Parkway must travel to the Lovell Road interchange to get to the southbound lanes; however, observations show that many vehicles make a U-turn at the Pellissippi Parkway/Centerpoint Boulevard intersection. From the southbound lanes, the street is hidden and approaching vehicles must make sudden stops to turn right into the development. Exiting traffic must make a right on Pellissippi and maneuver around vehicles currently using the Dutchtown Road exit ramp.

Centerpoint Boulevard provides access to the Centerpoint Business Park from Pellissippi Parkway and Lovell Road. In addition to turning movements in and out of the business park, the intersection handles U-turns from vehicles wishing to access Parkway Heights Condominium Development. There is adequate access to Centerpoint from Lovell Road and a full interchange with Lovell Road from Pellissippi Parkway within a quarter-mile of the business park, making this access point non-essential. Horseshoe Bend Lane is a local road that provides access to the Horseshoe Bend Business Park. Horseshoe Bend Business Park is mostly vacant and does not produce large volumes of traffic, but this access point should be eliminated before the park becomes built out.

Pellissippi Parkway Access Control Plan
The Tennessee Department of Transportation generated rough plans for access control along Pellissippi Parkway. The plans called for the creation of new service roads running parallel to the parkway to eliminate at-grade access points. These plans could be altered somewhat to utilize existing roads, which would maximize access to parcels throughout the Technology Corridor while minimizing costs. This altered plan is being described in the Northwest Knox County Sector Plan and the Tennessee Technology Corridor Comprehensive Development Plan as the Technology Corridor Access Plan. The goal of the Technology Corridor Access Plan is to eliminate all at-grade access points along Pellissippi Parkway between Oak Ridge Highway and I-40/75, creating a surface road network that would provide improved access to properties adjacent to the parkway from an access-controlled intersection. In turn, adjacent parcels would be opened for development with access to a road network and not to the parkway, thereby allowing Pellissippi Parkway to become an accessed-controlled highway.

The Pellissippi Parkway/ Hardin Valley Road interchange is proposed to become a single point interchange, meaning all ramps would converge at a single point. This would open an opportunity to extend Solway Road from Hardin Valley Road south to Yarnell Road, providing access to parcels adjacent to Pellissippi Parkway and eliminating access points at Carmichael Road and the Knox Utility District driveway. Solway Road should be widened from Hardin Valley Road to just north of George Light Road to aid in the development of adjacent parcels.

There is an opportunity to create a new interchange at Pellissippi Parkway and George Light Road if the I-475 Orange Route is not built. This would open up the northern end of the Technology Corridor to development. In addition, a road could be created to connect George Light Road with Horseshoe Bend Business Park, eliminating that access point and giving parcels within the business park improved access. If the I-475 Orange Route is constructed, George Light Road can become an overpass and traffic could be directed to an improved Solway Road, down to the Hardin Valley/Pellissippi Parkway interchange. Cherahala Road would be extended to Coward Mill Road, thereby allowing the Coward Mill Road access point with the parkway to be eliminated. Schaeffer Road would be realigned to intersect with Hardin Valley Road at Cherahala Road, thereby eliminating the access point at the Pellissippi Parkway/ Hardin Valley exit ramp. Schaeffer Road would then be widened south to Lovell Road to provide improved access and eliminate an access point at Schaeffer Lane.

Finally, the Parkway Heights Condominium Development should have an access other than at Pellissippi Parkway. A road should be created either north to Bob Gray Road or south to Corridor Park Boulevard.