Officials Working On Traffic Plan For Buc-ee’s

Traffic at the 407 exit in Sevier County is usually a mess. But, on June 26th, it will become a nightmare. Buc-ee’s is officially opening on June 26th at 6am. While most businesses around that area are looking forward to the opening of Buc-ee’s, as that will hopefully lead to increased foot traffic, law enforcement and TDOT are facing a major challenge. How do you handle the increase in traffic that Buc-ee’s is going to bring when you already have an exit that sees heavy traffic already. The Sevierville Police Department says they are working on a plan for opening day and the weeks that follow. One of the plans is to increase patrols in that area. TDOT says they are planning on having extra help trucks available to those who are in need of assistance. Both Sevier County and TDOT are in favor of building exit 408 to help with all the traffic. However, that could be years away as federal funding has not come through yet for that project, plus it will take quite some time to build that new exit.

The other thing to remember is that Buc-ee’s is just the first of several new attractions, including a theme park, that will be coming to the 407 exit as part of the project…”The 407- Gateway To Adventure”.