Interstate 81 (Tennessee)

Interstate 81 (I-81) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs northward from Dandridge, Tennessee, to the Thousand Islands Bridge at the Canadian border near Fishers Landing, New York. In Tennessee, I-81 serves the northeastern part of the state, running from its southern terminus with I-40 in Dandridge to the Virginia state line in Bristol. The route serves the Tri-Cities region of the state and the eastern parts of the Knoxville metropolitan area, terminating about east of Knoxville. I-81 bypasses most cities that it serves, instead providing access via interchanges with state and federal routes. It remains in the Ridge-and-Valley topographic region of the Appalachian Mountains for its entire length in Tennessee, and runs in a northeast to southwest direction.

I-81 roughly follows the corridors of U.S. Routes 11W and 11E in Tennessee, but unlike many stretches of Interstate Highways, does not closely parallel any U.S. Numbered Highway until it reaches Bristol. The first parts of I-81 in the state were constructed in the early 1960s, with additional progress made on the interstate throughout that decade. However, most of the route was constructed later than the other Interstate Highways initially allocated to Tennessee, and did not open until after 1970. The last stretch of I-81 in Tennessee, which was more than half of the entire route in the state, was completed in 1975. From 1985 to 2007, the interstate had one auxiliary route, I-181, which was renumbered as part of I-26.

Route description

I-81 begins at a directional T interchange with I-40 near Dandridge in unincorporated Jefferson County about east of downtown Knoxville. Traveling in a northeast-to-southwest alignment in a valley, the interstate has its first interchange a short distance later with State Route 341 (SR 341) near White Pine. This route connects to SR 66 a short distance later, providing access to Morristown. A few miles later, the highway crosses into Hamblen County and meets US 25E south of Morristown. Continuing through mostly rural terrain, I-81 has an interchange with SR 160, the final Morristown exit, a few miles later later. Some distance later, the interstate crosses over a ridge and into Greene County. About beyond this point is an interchange with US 11E near Mosheim, which provides access to Greeneville to the southeast and Bulls Gap to the northwest. Continuing through a predominantly rural and agricultural area, I-81 reaches SR 70, which connects to Greeneville to the south and Rogersville to the north. Beyond this point, the interstate remains in a predominantly rural and agricultural area and begins a slight uphill climb, with the northbound lanes utilizing a truck climbing lane for about near the community of Jearoldstown, where the route also shifts slightly to the northeast.

A few miles later, I-81 shifts sharply east and crosses into semi-urban Washington County. Immediately beyond this point is an interchange with SR 93, which provides access to Jonesborough to the south and Fall Branch to the north. I-81 then turns northeast again and, a short distance later, crosses into Sullivan County. Entering a semiurbanized part of the Tri-Cities area, I-81 reaches I-26 and US 23 in a cloverleaf interchange a few miles later. This route provides access to Kingsport to the north and Johnson City to the south. Shortly thereafter is an interchange with SR 36, another major connector between these two cities. I-81 then crosses the Fort Patrick Henry Lake impoundment of the Holston River and begins another slight uphill climb, once again gaining a northbound truck climbing lane. About beyond this, the truck lane terminates at an interchange with SR 357, a connector to Tri-Cities Regional Airport, and the route continues through the semi-urban area, briefly shifting eastward and crossing a ridge a few miles later. Shifting northeastwardly again, I-81 has an interchange with SR 394 near the unincorporated town of Blountville. Beyond this exit, the route crosses a slight upgrade once again, before reaching a relatively flat stretch again. A few miles beyond here, I-81 reaches Bristol and widens to six lanes. The route then has a cloverleaf interchange with US 11W before crossing into Virginia later.

History

Planning and construction

The general location of the highway that became I-81 was included in a plan released on August 2, 1947, by the Public Roads Administration of the now-defunct Federal Works Agency for the nationwide highway network that became the Interstate Highway System, which recommended that it terminate east of Knoxville with what became I-40. During the planning phase, the highway was also suggested to generally follow the corridor of US 11W from Knoxville to Bristol, but residents of Grainger County were opposed to this. The alignment was reaffirmed in a map produced by the Bureau of Public Roads, the predecessor agency to the Federal Highway Administration, in September 1955. I-81 was part of the original of Interstate Highways authorized for Tennessee by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, commonly known as the Interstate Highway Act. The numbering was approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials on August 14, 1957. That year, the Johnson City Planning Commission unsuccessfully lobbied to move the routing a few miles south between Morristown and Bristol to run closer to Johnson City and the Tri-Cities Regional Airport.

The first stretch of I-81 in Tennessee to be completed was the segment between US 11W and the Virginia state line, along with the southernmost of the interstate in Virginia, which was referred to at the time as the "Bristol Bypass". This section opened to traffic on November 20, 1961, along with I-381 directly across the state line. Grading and bridge construction on the interchange with I-40 took place in the early 1960s, but this interchange was not opened to traffic until work on the approaches was complete. The segment between the southern terminus with I-40 and US 25E near Morristown was contracted in June 1964, and completed in December 1966, along with the connecting section of I-40. Like much of the Interstate System in Tennessee, priority was generally given to completing sections in Middle and West Tennessee over East Tennessee. For this reason, most of I-81 was not constructed in the state until after the late 1960s. The decision to prioritize other Interstate Highways was criticized by some due to the unsafe conditions and high accident rate on US 11W, which had earned the nickname "Bloody 11W". The slow progress on the interstate became an issue in the 1966 gubernatorial election, when Democratic candidate John Jay Hooker accused primary opponent Buford Ellington, who had served as Governor from 1959 to 1963, of neglecting the stretch allocated for Tennessee.

Work on the stretch between US 25E near Morristown and US 11E near Mosheim was contracted in August 1967 and February 1968, and the section opened to traffic on December 10, 1970. Contracts for sections in Sullivan County were awarded throughout 1969, and work on what became the final stretch of I-81 in Tennessee to be completed, the section located between US 11E and SR 126 near Blountville, began on July 7, 1969. The remaining portions in that county were contracted in December 1970 and March 1971, and sections in Washington and Greene Counties were contracted in late 1971. The last section of I-81 in Tennessee, located in Greene County, was contracted in March 1972. The opening of the stretch between SR 126 and US 11W in Bristol was announced on December 23, 1972. Completion of I-81 in Tennessee was expected by late 1973 once all remaining construction had begun, but was delayed by the energy crisis that year. On December 20, 1974, the entire final stretch between US 11E and SR 126 was dedicated by then-Governor Winfield Dunn, and partially opened, with some portions restricted to two lanes. This stretch cost $49.4 million (equivalent to $ in ), and was dedicated on the same day that the last sections of I-40 and I-75 in Tennessee were opened. I-81 was officially completed in Tennessee on August 27, 1975, when all four lanes of the final section were fully opened to traffic.

Later history

On April 6, 1997, a carjacking that culminated in the Lillelid murders occurred at the I-81 southbound rest area near Baileyton. A group of six youths from Pikeville, Kentucky, forced the four members of the Lillelid family into their van and to drive approximately on the interstate to the SR 172 interchange, which was the next exit. The family was then taken to a secluded road nearby where they were shot. Three of the victims died, and the lone survivor was left permanently disabled. The perpetrators were apprehended two days later in Douglas, Arizona, trying to flee into Mexico, and later sentenced to life in prison.

Work to widen the northernmost of I-81 in Tennessee to six lanes, along with the southernmost in Virginia, began in April 1998. Initially planned to be completed in late 2000, the project experienced multiple delays and cost overruns, and was not completed until March 2003. A 2008 study conducted by TDOT on the I-40 and I-81 corridors identified a number of steep grades on both interstates difficult for trucks to ascend, causing congestion and safety hazards. This study resulted in the construction of a truck climbing lane on I-81 northbound between the Holston River and SR 357 that was completed in 2019.

In 2011, construction work began to reconfigure the exit 8 interchange with US 25E in Morristown due to the shift of US 25E as an alternate route of I-75, and proposed plans to make US 25E a freeway from the Cumberland Gap Tunnel to I-81. The project, involving the construction of several new bridges was complete in 2013.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 181 (I-181) was established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on December 4, 1985, for the controlled-access segment of US 23 between I-81 and US 11W in Kingsport, which had been constructed as part of Corridor B of the Appalachian Development Highway System. On June 10, 1986, the designation was extended southward to US 321/ SR 67 in Johnson City, extending its length to a total of . Exit numbers were based on US 23 mileage, which at the time was in the process of being upgraded to a freeway to the North Carolina state line. On August 5, 2003, AASHTO approved extending I-26 west into Tennessee, replacing I-181 from Johnson City to I-81. They ruled against an extension of the I-26 designation along the remainder of I-181 to Kingsport, however, since federal guidelines usually require mainline interstate highways to end at a junction with another interstate highway, an international border, or a seacoast. TDOT had proposed to renumber that stretch as I-126, but rescinded that proposal later that year. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users act, signed into law on August 10, 2005, authorized the remainder of I-181 to be redesignated as part of I-26. This took place in March 2007, when I-181 was officially decommissioned, and replaced with I-26 signage.

See also

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References

External links

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{{state detail page browse, type=I, route=81, state=Tennessee, stateafter=Virginia

Tennessee
81
Transportation in Jefferson County, Tennessee
Transportation in Hamblen County, Tennessee
Transportation in Greene County, Tennessee
Transportation in Washington County, Tennessee
Transportation in Sullivan County, Tennessee