The Pellissippi Parkway is a major highway in Knox and Blount counties in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Tennessee that extends 19.75 miles (31.78 km) from State Route 62 at Solway to SR 33 in Alcoa.

[9] The Pellissippi Parkway begins at a directional interchange with SR 62 (Oak Ridge Highway) at the east end of the unincorporated community of Solway in western Knox County.

It crosses Beaver Creek and has a five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with Hardin Valley Road, which provides access to Pellissippi State Community College.

Here, the Pellissippi Parkway enters the western end of the city of Knoxville and is paralleled on both sides by frontage roads south for about one mile (1.6 km) to a large interchange with I-40 and I-75.

[8][10] The Pellissippi Parkway continues south through a near-complete cloverleaf interchange with Kingston Pike about 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) beyond, which carries U.S.

The parkway crosses a Norfolk Southern Railway line and the Sinking Creek arm of Fort Loudon Lake ahead of its diamond interchange with Westland Drive.

[8][10] On the east side of the river, the highway enters the northern outskirts of the city of Alcoa, within which it remains to its eastern end.

The Pellissippi Parkway then curves southeast through a cloverleaf interchange with US 129 (Alcoa Highway) north of McGhee Tyson Airport.

The freeway then has a southbound-only exit and northbound-only entrance with Cusick Road and crosses a final Norfolk Southern rail line before reaching its terminus at a half diamond interchange with SR 33 (Old Knoxville Highway) near the Eagleton Village community.

[15] The route's alignment was approved on January 25, 1967, by the Knoxville-Knox County Highway Coordinating Committee, which allowed for it to be budgeted by the state.

[12] Initially referred to as the "Oak Ridge Connector", the highway was named the "Pellissippi Parkway" by an act of the Knox County Commission on December 7, 1971,[2] which was subsequently recognized by the Tennessee General Assembly on March 15, 1976.

[21] The section between Hardin Valley Road and SR 62 in Solway was completed in late 1973, after months of delays caused by rain.

[24] Then-Governor Lamar Alexander included the extension as part of a plan to develop a science and technology corridor in the region in the early 1980s.

[30] In addition, some critics alleged that Alexander, who is from Maryville, was pushing the extension for his personal financial benefit, citing land he co-owned nearby.

[35] The program also proposed that the extension be numbered Interstate 140,[35] which was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on June 15, 1992,[37] but not allowed to be signed until it was linked to I-40/75.

[38] On December 18, 1986, a group of landowners submitted a request to TDOT for an interchange with Tooles Bend Road, but this was rejected on October 27, 1988, after several local residents and the Knox County Commission had expressed opposition earlier that year.

[49] The contract for the last major section of the extension, located between Kingston Pike and I-40/I-75, was awarded in September 1993 and included construction of part of the interchange with I-40/75.

[60][61] This final section has been met with much controversy and opposition from locals, causing multiple delays, redesigns, and court reviews.

On April 24, 2002, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI), which would have allowed TDOT to proceed with the project.

[55] On July 27, 2013, TDOT announced that the alignment for the extension, which includes a westward shift of the southern end from the original plan, had been chosen.

[69] Between December 2, 2009, and June 30, 2010, the southbound on-ramp from SR 131 was lengthened and straightened, which required closing the ramp to all traffic and widening of the overpass, removing a hazardous accident-prone merge with the parkway.