State Route 67 (SR 67) is a state-maintained highway in northeastern Tennessee, including a four-lane divided highway segments in both Washington County and Carter County, and part of a significant two-lane segment passing over the Butler Bridge some 80 feet (24 m) above the TVA Watauga Reservoir (also referred locally to as Watauga Lake) near Butler in Johnson County, Tennessee.
State Route 67 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 67; primary in red, secondary in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TDOT | ||||
| Length | 63.88 mi (102.80 km) | |||
| Existed | October 1, 1923[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  SR 81 in Lamar | |||
| East end |  NC 88 east of Trade at North Carolina State Line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Tennessee | |||
| Counties | Washington, Carter, Johnson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description edit
Washington County edit
SR 67 begins as Cherokee Road as a 2-lane secondary highway in Washington County in Lamar at an intersection with SR 81. The highway goes to pass through the community before leaving Lamar and continuing east through rural areas before entering Johnson City. SR 67 then passes through a couple of neighborhoods before coming to an intersection with US 321 and SR 381 (University Parkway), where SR 67 becomes concurrent with US 321 and becomes a primary highway. They then travel east as a 4-lane divided highway through the south side of the city to an interchange with I-26/US 23/US 19W (Exit 24), where the highway becomes a freeway and has an interchange with Milligan Highway/Legion Street before crossing into Carter County and immediately entering Elizabethton.
Carter County edit
US 321/SR 67 gains some modest elevation before finally rolling over a significant slope and finally arriving at cautioned marked sloped curve just before the freeway segment ends at an at-grade intersection with SR 359 (Milligan Highway).
Elizabethton edit
At the SR 359/Milligan Highway exit, US 321/SR 67 continues on into Elizabethton as Elk Avenue on a 4-lane undived highway through commercial areas, where they become concurrent with SR 91 (Elizabethton Highway) and have an intersection with SR 362 (Gap Creek Road). US 321/SR 67/SR 91 then parallels the Watauga River before passing by a reconstructed interpretation of Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals State Park. The highway then passes through more commercial areas before entering downtown, where it becomes Broad Street and has an intersection with SR 400 before crossing the Doe River along the historic Broad Street Bridge and coming to an intersection with US 19E/SR 37 (Highway 19E), where SR 91 splits off and goes north along US 19E/SR 37 while US 321/SR 67 turns south along US 19E/SR 37.
Broad Street Bridge.
Further on south, the four-laned highway crosses over the Doe River for a second time and then runs closely parallel with it. US 19E/US 321/SR 37/SR 67 starts gaining some gradual elevation and eventually crosses a series of bridges over the Doe River at the Valley Forge community just outside of the Elizabethton city limits (a left turn off SR 67 and onto Beck Moutanin Road after the first bridge is an alternative route to both the TVA Watauga Dam and the TVA Wilbur Dam).
SR 67 completes a final fourth and curving high double bridge crossing before arriving at Hampton.
Hampton edit
At Hampton, SR 67 and US 321 split off from the US 19E/SR 37 concurrency and continue eastward. Here, the road begins as a two-lane segment, briefly passing by commercial areas in Hampton (including a U.S. post office, a Dollar General store and a non-attended public vehicle parking area for Appalachian Trail hikers arriving or entering the "AT" at Hampton), and then exiting Hampton over a high ridge.
Watauga Lake edit
Upon leaving Hampton, US 321/SR 67 again continually increases in elevation and roughly runs for several miles parallel to the shoreline of the massive Watauga Lake, through the Cherokee National Forest. Watauga Dam can be seen in the distance across the reservoir at the Rat Branch Boat Launch. At Fish Springs, SR 67 splits off from US 321, which heads east along SR 159, and veers northeastward, crossing Watauga Lake at the 80-foot (24 m) high Butler Bridge before entering Johnson County and Butler.
Johnson County edit
SR 67 passes through Butler before continuing northeastward up the Doe Creek Valley, where it passes through the communities of Doeville, Pandora, Doe Valley, and Dewey. During this stretch it passes by the Northeast Correctional Complex. At Doeville, it junctions with SR 167, which continues southeastward up the Roan Creek Valley to emerge in the Shouns Crossroads area of southern Mountain City. SR 67 then comes to an intersection with US 421/SR 34/SR 418, where SR 67 turns south and becomes concurrent with US 421/SR 34. They then bypass downtown to the west side, where they have an intersection with SR 418 before going through a commercial area as 4-lane undivided highway, where they a second intersection with SR 167 at Shouns Crossroads, before leaving Mountain City and continuing south, narrowing to 2-lanes. US 421/SR 34/SR 67 then pass through some rugged mountainous terrain before entering Trade, where SR 67 splits off from US 421/SR 34, becoming a secondary highway and heading eastward up the Jenkins Creek Valley toward North Carolina. At the state line, the roadway becomes North Carolina Highway 88 (NC 88).
History edit
In 1988, a stretch of State Route 67 was completed between Johnson City and Elizabethton as part of Quad-Cities Beltway projects.[2] The highway follows Cherokee Road through most of Johnson City before merging with US 321 (University Parkway) near East Tennessee State University, and continuing eastward.
In Elizbethton, SR 67 passes by a reconstructed interpretation of Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals State Park (the historical site of both the 1775 Transylvania Purchase and also the later staging area of the Overmountain Men, who crossed the mountains and defeated British Loyalists in South Carolina during the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain)
Junction list edit
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Lamar | 0.0 | 0.0 | SR 81 – Jonesborough, Embreeville, Erwin | Western terminus; SR 67 begins as a secondary highway |
| Johnson City |     US 321 south / SR 381 north (University Parkway) | Western end of US 321 concurrency; southern terminus of SR 381; SR 67 becomes a primary highway | |||
   I-26 / US 19W / US 23 – Kingsport, Erwin, Asheville | I-26 exit 24 | ||||
| Milligan Highway / Legion Street – Milligan College | Interchange | ||||
| Carter | Elizabethton |  SR 359 south (Milligan Highway) – Milligan College | Northern terminus of SR 359 | ||
 SR 91 south (Elizabethton Highway) | Western end of SR 91 concurrency | ||||
 SR 362 south (Mary Patton Highway) | Northern terminus of SR 362 | ||||
 SR 400 south (N Lynn Avenue) – Watauga, Bluff City | Northern terminus of SR 400 | ||||
| Broad Street Bridge over the Doe River | |||||
 US 19E north / SR 91 north (Veterans Memorial Parkway/SR 37) – Bluff City, Roan Mountain, Mountain City, Hunter, Shady Valley | Western end of US 19E/SR 37; eastern end of SR 91 concurrency | ||||
| 4 bridges over the Doe River | |||||
| Hampton | US 19E south (SR 37) – Roan Mountain, Elk Park, Newland | Eastern end of US 19E/SR 37 overlap | |||
| Fish Springs |  US 321 east (SR 159 east) – Boone, North Carolina | Eastern end of US 321 concurrency; western terminus of SR 159 | |||
| Butler Memorial Bridge over Watauga Lake | |||||
| Johnson | Doeville |   SR 167 north (Doe Creek Road) – Johnson County Airport | Western terminus of SR 167 | ||
| Mountain City |   US 421 north (Shady Street/SR 34) / SR 418 south (West Main Street) – Bristol, Trade, Downtown Mountain City | Western end of US 421/SR 34 concurrency; Northern terminus of SR 418 | |||
| SR 418 north (South Church Street) – Downtown Mountain City | Southern terminus of SR 418 | ||||
| SR 167 (Roan Creek Road/Forge Creek Road) – Johnson County Airport, Doeville, Fig | |||||
| Trade | US 421 south (SR 34) – Boone, North Carolina | Eastern end of US 421/SR 34 concurrency; SR 67 turns secondary | |||
| | 63.88 | 102.80 | NC 88 east | Eastern terminus; North Carolina state line; SR 67 ends as a secondary highway | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References edit
- ^ Highway Planning Survey Division (1925). Biennial Report of the Commissioner of the Department of Highways and Public Works State of Tennessee for the Years 1923 and 1924 (PDF) (Report). Nashville: Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works. pp. 39–44. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ http://www.jcmpo.org/time1.html Johnson City MPO: Timeline of Key Transportation Events - Johnson City, Tennessee.
External links edit
