U.S. Route 25W (US 25W) is the western branch of US 25 from

Newport, Tennessee Newport is a city in and the county seat of Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,945 at the 2010 census, down from 7,242 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 6,801. Newport is located along the Pige ...

, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. US 25W has been included in the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these ...

since the system's inception in 1926.

Route description

Tennessee

US 25W carries the unsigned designation of State Route 9 (SR 9) throughout the state. US 25 splits into US 25W and US 25E on the west side of downtown Newport. Here, SR 32 goes north on US 25E and US 70/SR 9/ SR 35 continue on US 25W. The concurrency then has a full interchange with Interstate 40 (I-40; exits 432A–B) before US 411/SR 35 separate and turn south while US 25W/US 70/SR 9 leave Newport and cross into Jefferson County. Immediately after crossing the county line, they intersect SR 363 in Reidtown and then cross

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 ...

parallel to the I-40 bridge. After crossing the lake, they intersect SR 113 and then proceed to Dandridge where SR 66 joins the concurrency. US 25W/US 70/SR 9/SR 66 next intersect and become concurrent with SR 92, passing by downtown to the north (SR 66 is unsigned at this intersection). SR 92 separates from the concurrency which proceeds to have another interchange with I-40 (exit 415); SR 66 separates thereafter and runs concurrent to I-40 before leaving Dandridge. US 25W/US 70/SR 9 continue west through rural Jefferson County before coming to an intersection with Snyder Road (which connects to SR 66 and Sevierville) and becoming concurrent with SR 139 before crossing into Sevier County. Once across the county line, SR 139 separates and turns south toward

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 film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

while US 25W/US 70/SR 9 continue west to cross into Knox County. The highway then has an interchange with US 11E/ SR 34 in

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

(also known as Trentville) with US 11E joining the concurrency as they enter

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 ...

. US 11E/US 25W/US 70/SR 9 then intersect SR 168 (Governor John Sevier Highway) before crossing a bridge over the

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 ...

. After this section, US 25W/SR 9 leaves the US 11E/US 70 concurrency to join I-40 at exit 394. It travels a short way before leaving I-40 to follow

I-640 Interstate 640 (I-640) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee. It serves as a bypass for I-40 around Downtown Knoxville and is also an alternative route for traffic passing between I-40 and I-75. All truc ...

(exit 385). They then have interchanges with Mall Road (which provides access to Knoxville Center Mall at exit 8), US 441/ SR 33/ SR 331 (Broadway; which provides access to Fountain City at exit 6), and

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

/ I-275 (exit 3A) before separating from I-640 to turn north at exit 3B. US 25W/SR 9 continues through the North Knoxville neighborhood as Clinton Highway and leaves Knoxville to enter Powell. In Powell, they intersect and have a short concurrency with SR 131 before leaving Powell and crossing into Anderson County. The highway next enters Claxton and becomes a very curvy four-lane undivided highway. In Claxton, US 25W/SR 9 intersects SR 170 and continues north from Claxton, winding its way through rural areas for a few miles to enter Clinton. Here, they intersect SR 61 before going straight through the historic downtown as Main Street. US 25W/SR 9 then leave Clinton, becoming curvy again before going through Medford to enter

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 ...

. In Rocky Top, US 25W/SR 9 goes through downtown to intersect and become concurrent with SR 116. The highway next intersects US 441/ SR 71 (which provides access to Norris

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

and

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

) before coming to an interchange where US 25W/SR 9 becomes concurrent with I-75 (exit 129) leaving SR 116 to trace the historical route of US 25W/SR 9. They cross into Campbell County and enter Caryville where they separate from I-75 (exit 134) and become concurrent with SR 63. Immediately afterward, they intersect the northern end of SR 116 and pass by Cove Lake,

Cove Lake State Park Cove Lake State Park is a state park in Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of situated around Cove Lake, an impoundment of Cove Creek created by the completion of Caryville Dam in 1936. The park's l ...

, and Caryville Dam before leaving Caryville to enter Jacksboro. In Jacksboro, US 25W/SR 9/SR 63 bypass downtown to the north and go through Jacksboro's main business area before proceeding into downtown LaFollette. There, they separate from SR 63 and turn north, becoming very curvy again as the road enters mountainous terrain to pass through Duff, cross Brushy Mountain Gap, then descend into the valley carved by Lick Creek and the Clear Fork of the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. Here, they pass through Habersham then intersect SR 90 at Morley. US 25W/SR 9 finally enters Jellico and have another interchange with I-75 (exit 160) before proceeding to downtown and intersecting SR 297 before turning north and ending at the

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 ...

state line, with US 25W continuing north alone into Kentucky.

Kentucky

Upon entry into Whitley County, US 25W runs parallel with and closely follow

for the rest of its course, including the points where it traverses the towns of

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

and Corbin. It continues to parallel Clear Fork as the highway travels down a narrow valley, passing through the communities of Red Ash, Saxton, Pleasant View, and

Emlyn Emlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales, which became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the northern part of Dyfed bordering on the River Teifi. Its southern boundary followed the ridge of the ...

. US 25W enters Williamsburg and immediately intersects with KY 92, running concurrently with it as they cross over the

and KY 92 leaves the concurrency to head east to Pineville after about . The highway follows the east bank of the river, passes the entrance to downtown and continues north through the Highland Park neighborhood before leaving Williamsburg and intersecting KY 26 near Wofford. It then intersects I-75 (exit 15) with an unusual (for Kentucky) double roundabout interchange before winding its way north through farmland and rural areas. US 25W next intersects with KY 90 (providing access to Cumberland Falls) and KY 1193 before entering Corbin and crossing I-75 for the last time (exit 25). It passes through a business district and some neighborhoods, where it has an intersection with KY 3041 (Corbin Bypass), before meeting back up with KY 26 and passing straight through downtown via a one-way pair between Main Street and Kentucky Avenue. The highway passes through more neighborhoods before crossing Lynn Camp Creek into North Corbin and Laurel County. US 25W passes straight through downtown before coming to an intersection north of town, where US 25E and US 25W reunites to become US 25. However, US 25E continues west of this point to terminate at exit 29 of I-75.

History

In Whitley County, Kentucky, US 25W originally ran the current routing of KY 26, and KY 90 terminated in downtown Corbin. KY 26 originally ran to KY 90 west of Corbin. At sometime in the 1940s, US 25W was rerouted to its current alignment to provide easier access to Cumberland Falls, and KY 26 ran US 25W's original course between Corbin and Williamsburg.

Major intersections

Notes

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=inline,title
US 25 at KentuckyRoads.com
W 25W 25W 25W Transportation in Laurel County, Kentucky Transportation in Whitley County, Kentucky Transportation in Anderson County, Tennessee Transportation in Campbell County, Tennessee Transportation in Knox County, Tennessee Transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee Transportation in Sevier County, Tennessee Transportation in Cocke County, Tennessee Transportation in Jefferson County, Tennessee