Traffic signals at 134 Knoxville intersections across five major corridors soon will be able to communicate with each other for the first time, part of a city upgrade aimed at reducing congestion and improving traffic flow during peak hours.
The city began working in 2025 to modernize 23 intersections on Middlebrook Pike, and contractors will work to install new lights on Broadway, Chapman Highway and Kingston Pike over the next three years. Improvements also are planned near the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus.
Right now, all 400 traffic lights owned by the city operate independently of each other, Karen McKeehan, the city's transportation engineering chief, told Knox News.
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Each of the planned improvements, funded by federal grants, will add an Advanced Traffic Management System that gives light the ability to sync up with each other through fiber-optic cables. Data from each intersection will be routed to the City’s Public Works Service Center and managed by traffic engineers.
The city began looking at federal grant options to improve traffic signals around 2014 until Knoxville was awarded $32.7 million through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program aimed at helping municipalities manage their traffic systems, McKeehan said.
Here's a breakdown of how that money will be used:
- Broadway: 29 intersections between Jackson Avenue and Colonial Circle (summer 2026 bid date)
- Chapman Highway: 17 intersections between Blount Avenue and Mountain Grove Drive (winter 2027 bid date)
- Kingston Pike: 27 intersections between Metron Center Way and Huxley Road (winter 2028 bid date)
- Middlebrook Pike: 23 intersections between Western Avenue and College Street (summer 2027 completion)
- University area: 38 intersections in and around campus including Cumberland and Western avenues, Neyland Drive, Henley Street and 17th street (spring 2027 bid date)
Visit kgis.org/maps/UDD.html to check the status of each project.
Sophia Tiedge is the growth and transformation reporter for Knox News. Email: sophia.tiedge@knoxnews.com
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tired of red lights? Knoxville plans major upgrades at 134 intersections
