Mr. Neal:
I am Iva Butler with the Daily Times. Am interested in doing article on you views and website. Can be reached at 981-1142.

Has anyone ever thought that improving the old highway would alleviate some of the Alcoa highway congetstion? I have always wondered why they have the South Knoxville Bridge which goes nowhere and currently pores into Chapman Hwy and no one has ever considered extending the existing boulevard/Moody Street to Maryville Pike/The Old Knoxville Hwy and then improved that to four lanes well into Blount County?

Another good suggestion.

Have they considered elevated road way? Existing Alcoa Hwy could be red lighted and express traffic could go overhead. Only have to build one mile to accomplish and most could be prefab and erected on site. Support could be placed in the median. Every time I see a project that does not really sound logical 3+miles to bypass 1 mile is logical?)I always ask where is the money. Who owns the affected property. Who stands to gain? Maybe in my old age I have come not to trust public officials? $1.7 million so 100 people aweek can walk over top of Alcoa hwy.

The government is not looking at the whole picture of what is best for the community. There are jobs that will be lost at the golf course they are planning on going through. One of those people working there happens to be my husband and we don't appreciate the fact that he will have to search for a new job during this time when the economy is in such a slump. That golf course is also a home away from home for many people. It is a place where people gather with friends, have fun, and enjoy being outside. It is also a place for solitude, personal reflection, and a place where people can be comfortable. It was voted number one course in the Daily Times and is a very prosperous golf course. The course can bring in around up to 200 players a day in the summer. Can they seriously think it will help the community by tearing it down?It will also affect the surrounding restaurants and gas stations. Will the government replace jobs lost due to lack of customers? Probably not! They will sell unused land to make a profit. There are alternate routes that can be used and I wish they would use them. It is not fair for jobs to be cut just to create a road that ends up going nowhere and running right back into Alcoa Hwy. What is the point? Not only does it affect the people, but have they seriously considered the effect it would have on the environment? There will be wild life looking for new homes due to this uprooting. There is no reason why they couldn't 6 lane Alcoa Hwy and put up red lights. Wouldn't that be a lot cheaper than creating a road that literally goes nowhere???? DUH!!!! It has more to do with politics than the safety of the citizens. They care more about how they can use the land for future use to turn a profit than to save lives.

I think it is unfair that, instead of widening the highway, they are creating this mega highway that will cause golf course workers to lose their jobs instead of the dealerships losing space for their businesses. Have they even talked to the owners of the golf course about buying the right-of-way through the course? I know that they are not going to sell the right-of-way. They would rather sell the whole golf course than take the pittence for right-of-way. My question is, have they considered the extra millions for the whole golf course it would cost for their budget? What would they do with the rest of the land once the hwy is completed? I don't see why they can't stop at Pellissippi parkway with the new bypass because it goes right back into Alcoa Hwy, and avoid going through the golf course altogether. For that matter, have they even talked to the home owners in that general area about what they will be losing as far as property value and noise instead of the peaceful neighborhood they are used to. I know that deep down the real reason for doing this whole foolish project is not to save lives but to save the famous Airport Motor Mile.

After reading some of the other comments, it triggered this thought, why create a bypass for one mile of Alcoa Hwy when they are widening the rest, after the bypass merges back into it? Why not widen the whole Alcoa Hwy???? It can't be only for the businesses on Airport Motor Mile, there are businesses all along Alcoa Hwy including a large Baptist church. Why build a five mile bypass to avoid one mile of a road that only has restaurants and dealerships. If you have noticed, a lot of the dealerships are closing, so this should not be a problem why they can't widen that stretch of road too.