The Pellissippi Extension's Land Question Arrives Before Its Pavement

"Any authorized changes in roads, drainage or utilities affecting the property, or contiguous to the property?" That is the road-related question on the Tennessee REALTORS® Residential Property Condition Disclosure form, version 01/01/2026. The form also asks about encroachments, easements and lawsuits that affect the property. None of those questions mentions a proposed highway, condemnation or eminent domain.

For most Maryville purchases, that gap never matters. It does matter for homes and acreage along a four-to-five-mile strip of eastern Blount County. There, the Pellissippi Parkway Extension has been an approved route since 2017, and local governments voted in 2026 to start paying for the land under it. Construction is not expected for roughly a decade. The land side of the project is already funded and moving. A buyer comparing farmhouses off Wildwood Road or newer homes near Sevierville Road has to look for that themselves, because the paperwork won't bring it up.

Land Money Is Approved Years Before Construction

The Tennessee Department of Transportation describes the project as extending State Route 162, Pellissippi Parkway, from its current end at State Route 33 to State Route 73. The plan is a new controlled-access, four-lane highway with a concrete median barrier wall and grade-separated interchanges. On its project page, TDOT lists right-of-way costs as funded in fiscal year 2026. The estimated construction start is fiscal year 2036, and the estimated completion is "TBD."

Those two dates are the reason a buyer should care now and not in 2035. Right-of-way is the land itself. It gets bought before a road can be built, and the funding for it is already lined up.

The 2026 money came through a four-way agreement. The Daily Times reported that Blount County's $5 million commitment is paid out over four years at $1.25 million per fiscal year. Alcoa approved a $2 million share, and Maryville authorized a little less than $4 million in May. The county payment was not in the FY 2026-27 budget approved in June. The first year was to come from a Debt Service transfer, and the remaining three years would be budget line items.

On July 16, the full Blount County Commission approved the spending 14 to 7, according to WATE. The station noted that the state will use the money to buy land for the extension and that it will not fund construction.

Where the Line Runs, and How Firm It Is

Since the disclosure form won't point to the corridor, the public maps are the main property-level source. TDOT posts its September 2021 design meeting handout along with two sets of display drawings: the original Display 1 and Display 2, and the September 2022 Updated Display 1 and Updated Display 2.

The handout describes a 4.7-mile route from SR 33, Old Knoxville Highway, to SR 73/US 321. It includes a new interchange at SR 35/US 411/Sevierville Road and a greenway between Wildwood Road and Sevierville Road that continues along Sevierville Road toward Davis Ford Road. Reporting on the route has also described crossings at Wildwood Road and Brown School Road. The drawings label Kensington Place and a "Future Pellissippi Place Development Road." The 2017 Record of Decision lists Kensington Place as a community where TDOT committed to a noise barrier if residents and owners approve it. It also notes Pellissippi Place as an existing development east of the SR 33 interchange.

The drawings show proposed pavement, proposed right-of-way, grading limits, easements and property lines, so a buyer can line a parcel up against them. They are also stamped "PRELIMINARY PLANS" and "SUBJECT TO CHANGE." TDOT spells out what that means. Right-of-way limits, edges of pavement and shoulders are set only after detailed engineering plans and field surveys, and "until the final design plans are prepared, it is not possible to know specifically how a particular property and property owner will be impacted by the project."

So a buyer gets an approved corridor, a funded land budget, and drawings precise enough to worry about but officially open to change. Even the basic dimensions vary by document year. The 2017 Record of Decision gives 4.38 miles with three interchanges at SR 33, US 411/Sevierville Road and US 321/SR 73. The 2021 handout says 4.7 miles, and an October 2025 Knoxville Regional TPO listing used 4.9 miles and $350 million. WBIR reported TDOT's current total cost as approximately $372 million.

If a Parcel Falls Inside the Footprint

Most buyers will never need to know how TDOT buys land. For a property that lines up with the proposed right-of-way on those drawings, it decides what owning that property could look like in the years before construction. TDOT's acquisition procedures page describes the process in this order:

1. Appraisers inspect affected homes, businesses and parcels. They value each property using records and recent bona fide sales.
2. Reviewed appraisals set the State's offer amount.
3. A TDOT buyer explains how the project affects the property and makes an approved written offer.
4. If no agreement is reached, the State moves to eminent domain proceedings, deposits its offer with the court, and a jury decides just compensation.

TDOT's residential relocation brochure, updated March 9, 2026, says qualified displaced residential occupants may receive help with moving and related expenses. They may also qualify for purchase, rent or down-payment supplements, and they can choose between an actual-expense move and a schedule-based move.

This is a summary of public process for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Anyone weighing a property near this corridor should have a real estate attorney review their specific situation.

Why the Corridor May Stay Unsettled for Years

The open question for buyers is whether the road gets built at all, and when. The money that started moving in 2026 doesn't settle that.

Opposition is organized and has been around a long time. In May, WATE reported that Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, known as CAPPE, estimates the project could affect 110 properties and at least 10 farm parcels. At the July workshop, according to The Daily Times, 11 of the 12 residents who addressed commissioners spoke against the parkway extension. WATE reported that many residents at the full commission meeting said they doubt the project will ever happen.

The traffic case is also disputed. TDOT's 2017 Record of Decision projected that, compared with not building the road, 2040 traffic would be 33% and 27% lower on two Washington Street segments and 1% and 5% lower on two US 129 segments. Those are planning forecasts made in 2017. They are not measured results. Nina Gregg, a longtime CAPPE member, gave commissioners a different reading, as quoted by The Daily Times:

"The Pellissippi Parkway Extension will not improve congestion through Maryville on Lamar Alexander Parkway or on Broadway. I've read all the traffic studies and they don't show any improvement there."

The same Daily Times article recounts one speaker's objection to the agreement's terms. Her view was that TDOT can walk away from the project at any time without returning property or reimbursing the county. That is a speaker's characterization, not a published contract term. Still, it explains why a corridor can stay uncertain for a long time. Land can be bought on a FY2026 budget for a road with no completion date.

For a buyer, that uncertainty runs in both directions. A home just outside the drawn right-of-way could someday sit near a new interchange at Sevierville Road, or near a greenway. It could also sit for years beside a strip of state-owned land waiting for a construction start scheduled for fiscal year 2036. The map tells a buyer which of those possibilities applies to a given address. Neither the listing nor the disclosure form will.

A Few Questions Buyers Ask

Will a seller have to tell me if the house is near the proposed route? The standard Tennessee REALTORS® form asks about "authorized changes in roads, drainage or utilities affecting the property, or contiguous to the property," plus encroachments, easements and lawsuits. It does not name proposed highways or eminent domain. The form also says it contains language beyond what state law requires. An attorney can tell you how those questions apply to a specific property.

Can I tell exactly how much of a lot would be taken? Not from the current public drawings. TDOT says property-specific impacts can't be known until final design plans and field surveys are done.

Does the 2026 funding mean construction is starting? No. WATE reported that the county money does not fund construction, and TDOT still lists fiscal year 2036 as the estimated start.

If you're looking at homes or acreage east of Maryville, The Cook Team can pull up TDOT's alignment drawings with you, compare them to any property on your shortlist, and help you work out what questions to ask before you write an offer. Book a Buyer Consultation and bring the addresses you're considering.