State Route 71 (SR 71) is a north–south state highway in Tennessee. For most of the length it is a " hidden" route, as it coincides with

US 441 U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North ...

in all but a short section in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

. The road begins at the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

state line in Sevier County within the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, whi ...

Newfound Gap Newfound Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state l ...

and ends at an intersection with US 25W, SR 116, and SR 9 ( hidden) in

Rocky Top "Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year. The song, which is a city dweller's lamentation over the loss of a simpler a ...

. Along its length SR 71 passes through Sevier County, a small portion of Blount County, Knox County, Anderson County, and in and out of Campbell County. Despite being signed on Hall of Fame Parkway in Knoxville, Tennessee
the Knox County TDOT map
ignores SR 71 while SR 33 has a concurrency with US 441.

Route description

SR 71 begins concurrent with

within the

at the

state line on

. SR 71 is known as

Newfound Gap Road Newfound Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state l ...

within the park, and follows along a valley carved by the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River as a narrow and curvy 2-Lane highway. Newfound Gap Road then becomes concurrent with SR 73 Scenic (Little River Road) before having an interchange with the

Gatlinburg Bypass The Gatlinburg Bypass (also known as Parkway Bypass or U.S. 441 Bypass) is a bypass of the resort city of Gatlinburg in Sevier County, Tennessee. The route is owned and maintained by the National Park Service and is considered part of th ...

and entering the city of

Gatlinburg Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and a U.S. Census population of 3,577 in 2020. It is a popular vacation resort ...

, where US 441/SR 71/SR 73 Scenic leaves the park and becomes Parkway, a 4-lane undivided highway as it passes through the city. Parkway then has an intersection with

US 321 U.S. Route 321 (US 321) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for from Hardeeville, South Carolina to Lenoir City, Tennessee; with both serving as southern termini. It reaches its northernmost point at Elizabethton, Tennessee. Because ...

/ SR 73 (East Parkway), where SR 73 Scenic ends and US 321/SR 73 joins Parkway. Parkway heads north to have another interchange with the Gatlinburg Bypass before leaving Gatlinburg and becoming a divided highway known as the

Foothills Parkway The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The 72.1-mile (114 km) parkway will connect U.S. Route 129 (U.S. ...

Spur (more commonly known as The Spur). Parkway then enters the city of

Pigeon Forge Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 6,343. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Pa ...

and widens to a 6-lane. It passes through the city and has an intersection with SR 449 (

Dollywood Dollywood is a theme park jointly owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 ...

Lane/Veterans Boulevard) before US 321/SR 73 head north along Wears Valley Road. US 441/SR 71 (Parkway) then crosses a bridge over the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River to enter

Sevierville Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first human ...

. They pass by several tourist attractions and a

Tanger Outlets Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. ( ) is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that invests in shopping centers containing outlet stores in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2019, the comp ...

before again crossing the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River and turning of the Parkway and north onto Forks of the River Parkway at the southern edge of downtown. They bypass downtown on the west side as an undivided highway before coming to an intersection with SR 66 (Winfield Dunn Parkway) and US 411/ SR 35 (W Main Street), where US 441/SR 71 turns left to become concurrent with US 411/SR 35 as a 4-lane undivided highway known as Chapman Highway. Chapman Highway then crosses a bridge over West Prong of the Little Pigeon River and leaves Sevierville as a divided highway through rural areas. It then passes through some mountainous areas as an undivided highway before entering Seymour. Chapman Highway passes by several homes and businesses before coming to an intersection with SR 338 (Boyds Creek Highway), where US 411/SR 35 heads south along Maryville Highway. US 441/SR 71 (Chapman Highway) continues north to pass through a small portion of Blount County before leaving Seymour and crossing into Knox County.

Knox County

US 441/SR 71 (Chapman Highway) passes through suburban areas as it enters South Knoxville. It has an interchange with SR 168 (Governor

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

Highway) before passing through a business district. SR 71 then breaks off from US 441 and follows E Moody Avenue for a few blocks before joining South Knox Boulevard (signed as James White Parkway) at an interchange with its current southern end. SR 71 then heads north as a freeway and has interchanges with Cottrell Street, Sevier Avenue, and Hillwood Avenue before crossing a bridge over the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

to enter downtown

. SR 71 then turns west and leaves James White Parkway, which continues as SR 158, and follows the adjoining exit ramp for Riverside Drive, Hill Avenue, Hall of Fame Drive; even through SR 71 is signed as a primary highway along SR 158. This the only section where SR 71 sign is posted. SR 71 then follows Hall of Fame Drive north through downtown, running parallel to SR 158 (James White Parkway), and has an intersection with

US 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. ...

/ SR 1 (E Fifth Avenue/Magnolia Avenue) before having an interchange with

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

(Exit 389). It then becomes concurrent with US 441/ SR 33 (Broadway) at an interchange. Broadway continues north as a 4-lane undivided highway through neighborhoods and suburban areas before having an intersection with SR 331 (Old Broadway) and an interchange with I-640/ US 25W/ SR 9 (Exit 6) and entering Fountain City. Broadway has a partial interchange with SR 331 (Tazewell Pike) before it passes through a business district before passing through downtown. It then becomes a divided highway as it crosses a ridge, where it leaves Fountain City and Knoxville to enter Halls Crossroads. Broadway now becomes Maynardville Pike and passes through suburban areas and business districts before US 441/SR 71 splits off from SR 33 (Maynardville Pike) along Norris Freeway as a 4-lane undivided highway shortly before having an intersection with SR 131 (E Emory Road). The highway then narrows to 2-lanes and leaves Halls Crossroads to pass through rural areas. It then becomes concurrent with SR 170 (Old Raccoon Valley Road) before crossing into Anderson County. SR 170 splits off from US 441/SR 71 (Norris Freeway) along Hickory Valley Road before US 441/SR 71 continues north through rural areas to enter the city of Norris, where they have a short concurrency with SR 61 (Andersonville Highway/Charles G. Seviers Boulevard) before passing through

Norris Dam State Park Norris Dam State Park is a state park in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated along the shores of Norris Lake, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norr ...

and crossing the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...

on top of the

Norris Dam Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The dam was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been create ...

. The highway turns east and becomes windy and curvy as its crosses into Campbell County twice for short distances before re entering Anderson County to enter

. US 441/SR 71 then have an interchange with

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

(Exit 128) and widen to an undivided 4-lane shortly before coming to an end at an intersection with US 25W/SR 9/ SR 116 (N Main Street) just north of downtown.

History

In 1964, the City of Knoxville released a transportation study suggesting the construction of a controlled-access highway connecting downtown Knoxville to South Knoxville and John Sevier Highway (SR 168). Originally known as the South Knoxville Boulevard, the freeway planned for a crossing of the Tennessee River and two design alternatives, with Alternative A starting further east and passing through the Sevierville Pike area, and Alternative B starting at the end of Neyland Drive through Colonial Village. Both alternatives were to end at SR 168 and serve as a bypass of Chapman Highway.

Future

At this time, South Knox Boulevard (SR 71) ends at Sevierville Pike, although there are current plans to extend the road to meet US 441 (Chapman Highway) or SR 168 (

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Highway).South Knox Blvd. extension (TDOT)
/ref>

Junction list

References

{{Reflist 071 Transportation in Sevier County, Tennessee Transportation in Blount County, Tennessee Transportation in Knox County, Tennessee Transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee Transportation in Anderson County, Tennessee Transportation in Campbell County, Tennessee Freeways in Tennessee