Foothills Parkway Study Wins Top Award

A study commissioned by the Knoxville Regional TPO on the Foothills Parkway has won the 2002 Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee. Wilbur Smith Associates prepared the final report, working in consultation with TPO, the National Park Service, and the Federal Highway Administration.

The Foothills Parkway has been in progress for 58 years and is only 30 percent completed. The study provided an in-depth assessment of the parkway corridor in context with the Congressional mandate, which states that the parkway be scenic and provide views of the Great Smoky Mountains. The study included an innovative technique of analyzing views from unfinished portions of the parkway, and was one of several commissioned for the Regional Transportation Alternatives Plan, which addressed congestion and transportation needs in a 10-county area.

TPO Director Jeff Welch and TPO Board Chairman Eddy Ford
accept an award passed along from Bob Bowers of Wilbur Smith Associates.