New Section of Foothills Parkway Opens In Wears Valley
The “Missing Link” of the Foothills Parkway will open on November, 10, 2018. The Foothills Parkway was dreamed up by Congress way back in 1944. The road was planned as a scenic drive along the Great Smoky Mountains from Chilhowee, TN to Interstate 40 east of Cosby, TN. The entire length of the Foothills Parkway was a planned 72 miles. Since 2010 only one-third of the parkway had been completed and was open to vehicles. Portions of the parkway had been built and were accessible but the completed parkway project ran into many delays over the years. The 16 miles of the “Missing Link” section as it was referred to has finally been completed! The opening takes place Saturday November 10, 2018. This section from Wears Valley, TN to Walland, TN now connects to the existing 5.6-mile Foothills Parkway East and 17-mile Foothills Parkway West. The park service announced recently that “Foothills Parkway was announced completed on November, 8 201 and opening to the public” was planned on Saturday, November 10, 2018.
Foothills Parkway New Section Opens 11/10/18
For the last couple of days some have been able to sneak a first look at the completed portion. Nov. 7th was Community Day for pedestrians to see the finished parkway. Also area middle school students and students from Wearwood and Townsend had a chance to tour the new section. College students from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and East Tennessee State University were also able to tour the newly constructed roadway and bridges. The college student also met the engineers who designed and constructed the road infrastructure. On Saturday the Foothills Parkway will be officially opened to all including vehicles, motorist, pedestrians and cyclists!
Upon opening on Saturday the Foothills Parkway will then have 39 miles one can drive on. The original plan for the parkway called for 8 different sections. Five of those sections have been completed (38.6 miles). As for the other 3 sections of the planned 72 miles parkway, the next phases are in the planning and funding phase. The final 33.5 miles for sections 8B, 8C, and 8D are located between Cosby and Wears Valley. Funding is estimated at $20 million for the remaining 3 sections. The next section to be constructed will likely be Section 8D. This section once built will connect Section 8E in Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur in Pigeon Forge (US 441).
Foothill Parkway Sections Completed and Planning Connections Map
“Missing Link” of Foothills Parkway Opens 11/10/18
(image from nps.gov)
