Close to Home, Far from Ordinary: The roads that built East Tennessee

Some of East Tennessee’s most important roads have become landmarks in their own right. Interstate 40 carries travelers through mountain passes that once challenged pioneers, while Interstate 75 links the region to destinations across the eastern United States. Historic routes such as U.S. 11 and the old Dixie Highway remind us that today’s highways often follow paths established generations ago.

Let’s remember how travelers made trips to major cities from Knoxville.

A trip to Nashville could take most of the day as travelers followed the Kingston Road, later becoming parts of U.S. 70, winding through small towns such as Kingston, Rockwood, and Crossville. Today, most travelers use I-40, making the trip in about three hours.

Heading down to Chattanooga, travelers used wagon roads through the Tennessee Valley, later following U.S. 11 and U.S. 27, making quite the day trip. Today, I-75 South provides a direct route in about two hours.

Going to Asheville meant crossing the mountains, navigating narrow roads through gaps and passes, often affected by the weather. Travelers later used early versions of U.S. 25/70, but today 1-40 carries travelers through modern mountain engineering and tunnels, but rock slides frequently cause detours and delays.

I remember traveling to Atlanta as a child to visit my grandmother and other family members. The trip was hours long and slow. Before the Interstate era, one common route from Knoxville to Atlanta passed through Maryville, Madisonville, Athens, and Etowah, following roads that eventually became part of the Dixie Highway system and later U.S. Highway 411.

Prior to I-75 North, visits to Kentucky were equally difficult. Early settlers traveled portions of the Wilderness Road and later state highways through the Cumberland Gap.

One interesting note: I-40 largely parallels the old route of U.S. 70, while I-75 often follows transportation corridors that date back to Native American trails, wagon roads, and early rail lines.

The modern interstates didn’t create entirely new paths; they often improved and expanded routes that had been connecting East Tennessee communities for generations.

This column will explore adventures that are ‘Close to Home, Far from Ordinary,’ and if you have some to share, please send to news@knoxtntoday.com.

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