State Route 126 (SR 126) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

that travels through Sullivan County in

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

. It connects Kingsport and

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Route description

SR 126 begins in Kingsport at an intersection with SR 93 at its interchange with

I-26 I26 may refer to: * Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W ...

US 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since ...

(Exit 4). It goes northeast as a 4-lane undivided highway (known as Wilcox Drive) and immediately has an intersection with its business route, SR 126 Bus (old Wilcox Drive), before going through neighborhoods and industrialized areas before having an interchange with Jared Drive and crossing a bridge over the

South Fork Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...

and having an intersection with SR 355. SR 126 continues northeast through more neighborhoods before coming to an intersection with and becoming concurrent with SR 36 (E Center Street), where SR 126 turns southeast to become concurrent with that highway. SR 36/SR 126 then continue southeast to a y-intersection, where they turn onto Fort Henry Drive and become a divided highway. They then come to an intersection with Memorial Boulevard, where SR 126 turns east to leave SR 36 to follow that street. SR 126 becomes undivided once again as it passes through some commercial areas before coming to an interchange with SR 93, where it narrows to 2-lanes and leaves Kingsport, through it still officially remains within the city limits. SR 126 then passes through rural areas and crosses over a ridge before coming to an interchange with

I-81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

(Exit 66), where it officially exits the city limits of Kingsport. The highway then passes through rural areas again, now paralleling I-81, to enter Blountville, where it has an intersection with SR 75. SR 126 then enters downtown and has an intersection with SR 394. The highway then continues east through downtown before leaving Blountville and continuing east. SR 126 then passes through Walnut Hill before entering

, coming to an end at an intersection with

US 11W U.S. Route 11W (US 11W), locally known as Bloody 11W, is a divided highway of US 11 in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia. The U.S. Highway, which is complemented by US 11E to the south and east, runs from US 11, US 11E, and US 70 in Kn ...

/ SR 1 just south of downtown.

History

SR 126 was the original US 11W from Bristol to Kingsport until the late 1950s when the US highway was relocated 4 miles north of Blountville and paralleled Reedy Creek Road/Bloomington Pike Road, which bypassed Blountville and Sullivan Gardens. SR 126 being the older road also accessed a county road leading to Warrior's Path State Park.

Future

The part known as Memorial Boulevard from Kingsport to Blountville is undergoing an widening project that will add more lanes and make the road safer for traffic. The project has not yet been started.

Junction list

Kingsport business route

A business route of SR 126 exists in Kingsport. It begins at

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) and US 23 in ...

U.S. Route 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since ...

/ State Route 93 and ends at SR 126 near downtown Kingsport.

References

{{reflist

External links

Memorial Boulevard project
–

Tennessee Department of Transportation The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is a multimodal agency with statewide responsibilities in roadways, aviation, public transit, waterways, and railroads. The mission of TDOT is to provide a safe and reliable transportation syste ...

126 Transportation in Sullivan County, Tennessee