Sevier County Officials Apply For New Exit 408

Sevier County officials have officially applied to the state to build a new interchange on Interstate 40. The new exit would be a diverging diamond interchange and would be located one mile east of exit 407 for Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Pigeon Forge. The new exit would be exit 408. The road would run from East Dumplin Valley Road to Douglas Dam Road to start, but initial plans are to eventually have that road meet up with Veterans Parkway eventually linking up with the spur. Sevier County officials are wanting the new intersection and new road to take pressure off of exit 407 and route 66. Traffic has increased by a substantial amount at that exit since Buc-ee’s opened in late June. More developments are planned for exit 407, so the need for an additional exit is paramount for the county to ease traffic congestion at the 407 exit. TDOT will have to approve the application for the project, then the state legislature would have to approve funding before any construction on that project could start.