Transportation

Map 4: Existing Transportation System

Population growth as well as expanded commercial, office, and industrial development, and increases in the number of vehicles per household have put a strain on the transportation system. The average sector household had 1.9 vehicles in 2000, with 5,044 households having three or more vehicles. The automobile is the primary means of travel in this sector, with 29,703 people, or 87.3% of the workforce commuting to work in a single occupant vehicle. Public transportation is used by only .1% of commuters; .4% walk, 9.0% carpool and 3.0% work at home. The average one-way commute time in 2000 was 21.6 minutes, which is slightly less than the county average of 22.2 minutes.

Roads
I-40/75 runs along the southern border of the sector. The major roads servicing this sector are Pellissippi Parkway, Lovell Road, Campbell Station Road, Middlebrook Pike, Oak Ridge Highway, Cedar Bluff Road, Gallaher View Road, Clinton Highway, Hardin Valley Road, Hickory Creek Road, Everett Road, Francis Road, Amherst Road, Dutchtown Road, Ball Camp Pike, Pleasant Ridge Road, Schaad Road, Western Avenue and Emory Road.

The majority of the roadways have experienced a substantial increase in traffic over the past ten years, according to traffic count data.

Among the roads experiencing the highest increase in traffic since 1992 are Solway Road, Schaad Road, Middlebrook Pike, Pellissippi Parkway, Hardin Valley Road, and I-40/75.

Traffic counts have generally increased in the
Northwest County Sector in the last five years.

Four-lane divided roadways are an alternative road design
to minimize the sea of asphalt.

Public Transportation
Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) operates four bus routes that access parts of the Northwest County Sector. The Crosstown Route (90A/B) operates on portions of Middlebrook Pike. The Kingston Pike Route (11A) operates on Cedar Bluff, Fox Lonas, Executive Park Drive, and Parkwest Boulevard, providing stops at Fort Sanders West Hospital and Wal-Mart. The Farragut Express Route (102X) operates between a park and ride lot on Campbell Station Road, the University of Tennessee, and Downtown via I-40/75. The Cedar Bluff Express Route (101X) runs between a park and ride lot at Cedar Bluff Crossing Shopping Plaza, the University of Tennessee, and Downtown Knoxville via I-40/75. During certain hours, the Farragut Express Route operates this route. The Pellissippi State Route (53) used to provide access between Pellissippi State and Downtown via Pellissippi Parkway and I-40/75, however this service was terminated in 2002 due to low ridership.

Commercial Transportation
CSX operates the lone railroad line that runs through the sector. There are several at-grade road crossings along the line. An overpass at Ball Camp-Byington Road creates a blind one-lane viaduct through which only one car at a time may pass.

Trucking is a major component of the traffic on I-40/75 and accounts for as much as 27% of the average daily traffic volume at the Watt Road interchange. On an average day, 24,493 trucks travel I-40/75 near the Cedar Bluff Road exit, comprising 19% of the average daily traffic. Projections developed by the Federal Highway Administration say that this same section of I-40/75 could see as many as 32,363 trucks per day by 2020.

Sidewalks
Most of the roadways in this sector lack a safe facility for pedestrians. Sidewalks are scarce, but can be found along Middlebrook Pike, Cedar Bluff Road, Gallaher View Road, and Vanosdale Road.

KAT services only selected
areas of this sector.

This one-lane viaduct has continuously
been identified as a traffic problem.

Sidewalks are public amenities that should
be included when road improvements are made.