The East Tennessee Crossing Byway is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

in the U.S. state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Established in 2009, it is one of the newest byways in the National Scenic Byway system. The scenic byway traverses mostly along an unsigned concurrency of U.S. Route 25E/ State Route 32 (US 25E/SR 32) 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 coun ...

Route description

The byway begins Cocke County at the Tennessee–

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

state line along US 25 in

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompas ...

. Northbound, the byway crosses 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, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

twice before reaching the unincorporated community of Del Rio. Departing Del Rio, the byway crosses the Pigeon River and enters the city of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

. The byway ends its unsigned

concurrency (road) In a road network, a concurrency is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. The practice is often economically and practically advantageous when multiple routes must pass between a single mountain crossi ...

with US 25 and begins its concurrency with US 25E/ SR 32. It exits Cocke County and enters Jefferson County after crossing

Douglas Lake Douglas Lake, also called Douglas Reservoir, is a reservoir created by an impoundment of the French Broad River in Eastern Tennessee. This lake is located only a few miles from the Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area, and also the Great Smoky Mountain ...

near the unincorporated community of Leadvale. The byway then goes 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 ...

, until reaching the Interstate 81 (I-81) overpass at exit 8. It then enters Morristown in

Hamblen County Hamblen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,499. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Morristown. Hamblen County is the core county of the Morristown, Tennessee Met ...

. In Morristown, the byway connects travelers to the city's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, College Square Mall, and

Walters State Community College Walters State Community College (abbreviated as WSCC, and commonly known as Walters State) is a public community college based in Morristown, Tennessee. It was founded in 1970 and is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college wa ...

via SR 160 and US 11E (Morris Boulevard, Andrew Johnson Highway). The byway then exits the Morristown–Hamblen area after crossing

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-storag ...

on the Olen R. Marshall Bridge, entering Bean Station in Grainger County. In Bean Station, the byway gives scenic views of the Mooresburg Valley and Cherokee Lake. Near the town's central business district, the byway is joined with US 11W/ SR 1 via

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

. The concurrency to US 11W continues until reaching Briar Fork Creek at the base of

Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, located within the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. The ridge runs generally east-northeasterly from its southern terminus at Kitts Point (at ...

, where US 11W splits off and heads west along the Richland Valley towards

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, and the byway northbound into

Poor Valley Poor Valley is a valley in Grainger County, Tennessee, Hawkins County, Tennessee, Hancock County, Tennessee, Scott County, Virginia, Washington County, Virginia, and Smyth County, Virginia, United States. A variant name is Big Poor Valley. Poor ...

ascending the southern slope of Clinch Mountain. East Tennessee Crossing - The East Tennessee Crossing Meeting Clinch Mountain - NARA - 7718111

The byway traverses by a scenic overlook and through Bean Gap before descending down Clinch Mountain's northern slope towards the unincorporated community of Thorn Hill at the intersection of SR 131. After leaving Thorn Hill, the byway crosses 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 ...

and enters Claiborne County. In Claiborne County, the byway first enters the unincorporated community of Springdale, winding through the rolling hills of rural Claiborne County before entering Tazewell. In Tazewell, the byway bypasses the town's central business district and heads north. It crosses over the Powell River and enters

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

. The byway offers views of the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

, and access to

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee. Its Harrogate main campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. , it had 1,605 undergraduate and 4,200 graduate and profe ...

before exiting Harrogate. It then bypasses the downtown area of

, and enters the

Cumberland Gap Tunnel The Cumberland Gap Tunnel is a dual-bore, four lane vehicular tunnel that carries U.S. Route 25E under Cumberland Gap National Historical Park near the intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The tunnel consists of two separate bo ...

, where the East Tennessee Crossing Byway ends.

History

East Tennessee Crossing - Ribbon Cutting at the East Tennessee Crossing - NARA - 7718112

What is now the East Tennessee Crossing Byway was supposedly first traversed by

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, long before the area was settled by European pioneers. During this period, the route was considered a part of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Warriors' Path. Most notably, the

to Bean Station section of the route was used as a pathway to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

on famous pioneer and settler,

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...

. In 1915, the Cumberland Gap to Morristown section was designated a part of the

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...

, one of the routes in the

National Auto Trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in t ...

system, which was one of the earliest highway systems developed in the United States. Throughout the early to mid-20th century, the route from the Cumberland Gap to Tazewell, along with SR 33 from Tazewell to

, was part of the infamous Thunder Road, which was used by

bootleggers A bootleg is the upper part (or shaft) of a boot. Bootleg, bootlegging or bootlegger(s) may also refer to: Common meanings * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages * Moonshine, illicitly made an ...

to illegally transport and trade

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

. The story was later fictionally adapted into a 1958 crime-drama film and

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

of the same name. Based on the overall historical significance and proximity to historic sites such as the tavern once lived in by

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

in Morristown, the

Battle of Bean's Station The Battle of Bean's Station (December 14, 1863) was fought in Grainger County, Tennessee, during the Knoxville campaign of the American Civil War. The action saw Confederate forces commanded by Lieutenant General James Longstreet attack Union ...

site in Grainger County, and the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

in the Cherokee National Forest, many local historians called for US 25E and US 25 to the North Carolina state line to become a scenic byway. After a lengthy nomination and funding process, the efforts proved successful, as the East Tennessee Crossing National Scenic Byway was officially established in late 2009.

Major intersections

References

External links

* *{{URL, https://www.tn.gov/tdot.html, Tennessee Department of Transportation East Tennessee Crossings Byway Transportation in Cocke County, Tennessee Transportation in Jefferson County, Tennessee Transportation in Hamblen County, Tennessee Transportation in Grainger County, Tennessee Transportation in Claiborne County, Tennessee U.S. Route 25