State Route 66 (SR 66) is a state-maintained highway in

eastern 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 counti ...

, including a six-lane divided highway segment in Sevier County, a four-lane expressway in Hamblen and Jefferson counties, and a two-lane segment through mountainous terrain continuing to the northeast terminus.

Route description

Sevier County

SR 66 begins as a primary highway in Sevier County in

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 ...

at an intersection 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 ...

/ US 411/ SR 35/ SR 71 (Chapman Highway/Forks of the River Parkway/Main Street) in downtown. The highway goes north as a 6-lane undivided highway (Winfield Dunn Parkway) to leave downtown and cross a bridge over the Little Pigeon River to have an intersection with SR 448 (North Parkway). The highway then becomes divided at the intersection with Allensville Road and continues north through a long major business district and has a concurrency with SR 338 (Douglas Dam Road/Boyds Creek Highway) before crossing a bridge over the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville form ...

to leave Sevierville and enter

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

. It continues past some more businesses before having an intersection with SR 139 (Douglas Dam Road) before passing some more businesses and coming to 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 407). Here, SR 66 becomes unsigned as turns east to become concurrent with I-40 while the road continues north as Snyder Road to US 25W/US 70/SR 9. This entire 6-lane section of SR 66 between US 441/411 and I-40 is a popular route for tourists traveling to 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, w ...

as it is also part of the

Great Smoky Mountains Parkway The Great Smoky Mountains Parkway is a highway that travels between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Interstate 40 in Kodak, Tennessee, in East Tennessee. It serves as the main thoroughfare for Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Seviervil ...

. I-40/SR 66 go east as a 6-lane freeway and cross into Jefferson County shortly afterwards.

Jefferson County

I-40/SR 66 go east through farmland and have an interchange with Deep Springs Road (Exit 412) before coming to an interchange with US 25W/

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. E ...

/ SR 9 (Exit 415). Here, while SR 66 still remains unsigned, it turns secondary and leaves I-40 to go east, concurrent with US 25W/US 70/SR 9, and enter Dandridge. The highway passes through farmland as a 2-lane highway before becoming concurrent with SR 92 as they enter downtown. The highway then passes several businesses before SR 92 splits off in the center of town. After passing through some neighborhoods, SR 66 becomes signed as it splits off from US 25W/US 70/SR 9 to the northeast and leaves Dandridge as Valley Home Road. The highway continues through farmland as it parallels and crosses under I-40, eventually passing just north of the I-40/

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 Isla ...

interchange and begins paralleling I-81. SR 66 then passes through

White Pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

, where it has an intersection with SR 341 (Roy Messer Highway), turns primary again, and becomes a four-lane

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

towards the Hamblen County line.

Hamblen County

SR 66 continues through rural unincorporated Hamblen County as a four-lane expressway with median crossings restricted to U-turns, and has an intersection with SR 342 before entering Morristown providing access to West View Middle School and a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with SR 160. SR 66 then becomes a five-lane urban

connector route A connector is a highway or freeway road that connects to another highway or freeway. It can be part of an interchange such as the MacArthur Maze or a longer roadway such as the Interstate 635. A connector route is a type of special route or su ...

known as Merchants Greene Boulevard (formerly part of SR 474) where it continues through a commercial-oriented area of West Morristown until reaching the intersection of

US 11E U.S. Route 11E (US 11E) 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 11W to the north and west, runs from US 11, US 11W, and US 70 in Knoxville, Tennessee north and e ...

/ SR 34 (Andrew Johnson Highway), turning secondary once more. The highway then travels east along a unsigned concurrency with Andrew Johnson Highway, turning secondary again, where it continues until the intersection of US 11E/SR 34 and Morris Boulevard, where SR 66 maintains its concurrency along Andrew Johnson Highway and becomes First North Street while US 11E/SR 34 follows Morris Boulevard. It then passes by several more businesses before having an intersection with SR 343 (Cumberland Street) in the center of the city, where SR 66 becomes E 1st North Street. SR 66 then leaves downtown and continues east as a 4-lane undivided highway (Andrew Johnson Highway) as it passes through neighborhoods before having an interchange with Liberty Hill Road, just before having an interchange with US 25E/US 11E/ SR 32/SR 34, where SR 66 again becomes concurrent with US 11E/SR 34 (US 25E/SR 32 Exit 2B). The highway then leaves Morristown as a 4-lane divided highway and passes through Russellville as it narrows to 2-lanes and has an intersection with SR 344. US 11E/SR 34/SR 66 then continue northeast through farmland to pass through Whitesburg and have an extremely short concurrency with SR 113 before crossing into Hawkins County.

Hawkins County

US 11E/SR 34/SR 66 continue northeast through farmland to Bulls Gap, where SR 66 separates from US 11E/SR 34 for the final time as it turns north as a primary highway to leave Bulls Gap and continues through farmland. SR 66 then passes through some hilly terrain before having another intersection with SR 113 and entering

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It then becomes concurrent with SR 70 (Trail of the Lonesome Pine) before leaving Persia and continuing north through farmland. They then have an intersection with Old Highway 70 before crossing the Hugh B Day Bridge over

Cherokee Lake Cherokee Lake, also known as Cherokee Reservoir, is an artificial reservoir in the U.S. state of Tennessee formed by the impoundment of the Holston River behind Cherokee Dam. Hydrology The reservoir has a surface area of about , a flood-storage ...

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 entering Rogersville. They pass by several businesses before curving to the west and have a partial interchange with West Main Street. They then come to an interchange 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, where SR 70 splits off and turns northeast on US 11W/SR 1 while SR 66 turns secondary, becoming extremely narrow and curvy as it leaves Rogersville and enters mountainous terrain. SR 66 then passes through farmland again for a short distance before rentering the mountains to have an intersection with SR 94 before crossing into Hancock County.

Hancock County

SR 66 curves and winds its way through several miles of mountainous terrain before coming to an intersection with SR 31 just south of Sneedville. It then turns right and crosses a bridge over 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 ...

before coming to an end at an intersection with SR 33 just south of downtown.

History

A widening project was recently completed on SR 66 from

to Chapman Highway/Main Street/Forks of the River Parkway (

/ US 411). It was divided into 3 separate sections, each of which was expanded at different times. It expanded the 4-lane divided highway to a six-lane divided highway. The section closest to Sevierville was expanded first. This section stretched from Boyds Creek Highway ( SR 338) to Nichols Street and began of July 15, 2009 and was completed on November 18, 2011. The second section from I-40 to Douglas Dam Road ( SR 139) began in September 2010, and was completed in November 2012. The middle section from Douglas Dam Road to Boyds Creek Highway began in March 2012 and was completed in the summer of 2016, after multiple delays. In 2013, construction work began on a relocated SR 66 from the intersection of SR 474 and SR 160 in West Morristown, connecting the city to

Interstate 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 Isla ...

exit 4 in

. The project was completed in November 2020.

Junction list

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline

066 66 may refer to: * 66 (number) * One of the years 66 BC, AD 66, 1966, 2066 * "66" (song), a song by Lil Yachty featuring Trippie Redd *66, a song by The Afghan Whigs, from the album 1965 *Sixty-Six (card game), a German card game * ''Sixty Six'' (f ...

Transportation in Sevier County, Tennessee Transportation in Jefferson County, Tennessee Transportation in Hamblen County, Tennessee Transportation in Hawkins County, Tennessee Transportation in Hancock County, Tennessee Morristown, Tennessee Rogersville, Tennessee