Sawmill Road completion expected in Nov.
The extension of Sawmill Road under construction in Norris is shown here on Monday (Aug. 17) at its termination point where it empties onto Norris Freeway/U.S. 441 behind Covenant Life Church. The roadbed has now been cut through from the Norris Industrial Park area. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Earth moving and grading began May 15 to cut the road through trees and rolling hills for its quarter-mile length, and the planned route has now nearly reached Norris Freeway.
It has no drivable surface, though -- just rough gravel and dirt.
Whaley Construction, LLC, of Sevierville was the winning bidder on the project, with a total cost of just over $4.42 million. All of the construction is being paid for by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
When completed, the extension will run from the current end of Sawmill Road at the Norris Industrial Park to a point just north of Covenant Life Church, across from the Norris Memorial Gardens cemetery.
It will exit onto Norris Freeway near Cross Pike Road, which goes past the cemetery and feeds onto Andersonville Highway (Tenn. 61) near the entrance to the Museum of Appalachia.
While construction is underway, the entrance to Covenant Life Church from Norris Freeway has been blocked, allowing access to the church’s parking lots only from Andersonville Highway.
Residents on Pine Road have pushed for the extension because it would allow trucks from the city’s industrial park area to exit the city directly onto Norris Freeway.
Those trucks now must drive through the residential neighborhood on streets designed for 1936 traffic and vehicle sizes, city officials said.