U.S. Route 25E

{{Short description|Highway in Tennessee and Kentucky, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox road | country = USA | type = US | route = 25E | maint = KYTC, TDOT, and FHWA{{efn|Since the Cumberland Gap Tunnel is an interstate facility, it is the responsibility of the FHWA to maintain the section of US 25E it carries. The FHWA contracts the maintenance work to Tunnel Management, Inc., of Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers.<ref name="tmiJMT"/>}} | map = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=290|type=line|from=U.S. Route 25E.map }} | map_custom = yes | map_notes = US 25E highlighted in red | length_mi = 112.8 | length_ref = <ref name="tnky-ggm"/> | established = {{start date|1926|11|26}}<ref name=1926map>{{cite map |author1 = Bureau of Public Roads |author1-link = Bureau of Public Roads |author2 = American Association of State Highway Officials |author2-link = American Association of State Highway Officials |date = November 11, 1926 |title = United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials |url = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg |scale = 1:7,000,000 |location = Washington, DC |publisher = United States Geological Survey |oclc = 32889555 |access-date = November 7, 2013 |via = Wikimedia Commons }}</ref> | tourist = 20px|alt=|link= East Tennessee Crossing Byway | direction_a = South | terminus_a = {{Jct|state=TN|US|25|US|25W|US|70}} in Newport, TN | junction = *{{jct|state=TN|I|81}} in Morristown, TN *{{jct|state=TN|US|11E}} in Morristown, TN *{{jct|state=TN|US|11W}} in Bean Station, TN *{{jct|state=TN|SR|33}} in Tazewell, TN *{{jct|state=TN|SR|63}} in Harrogate, TN *{{Jct|state=TN|US|58}} at Cumberland Gap, TN *{{Jct|state=KY|KY|74}} in Middlesboro, KY *{{Jct|state=KY|US|119}} in Pineville, KY *{{Jct|state=KY|KY|11}} in Barbourville, KY *{{Jct|state=KY|US|25|US|25W}} in North Corbin, KY | direction_b = North | terminus_b = {{jct|state=KY|I|75|KY|770}} in North Corbin, KY | states = Tennessee, Kentucky | counties = '''TN:''' Cocke, Jefferson, Hamblen, Grainger, Claiborne<br />'''KY:''' Bell, Knox, Laurel | spur_of = 25 | spur_type = US | system1 = {{infobox road/browselinks/USA|state=KY}} | system2 = {{infobox road/browselinks/USA|state=TN}} | browse = {{ky browse|previous_type=US|previous_route=25|route=KY|next_type=US|next_route=25W}}{{tn browse|previous_type=US|previous_route=25|route=TN|next_type=US|next_route=25W}} }}

'''U.S. Route 25E''' ('''US 25E''') is the eastern branch of US 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. The highway, however, continues as US 25E for roughly {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=in}} until it joins Interstate 75 (I-75) in the Laurel County community of North Corbin at exit 29. The highway serves the Appalachia regions of Kentucky's Cumberland Plateau and the Ridge-and-Valley section of East Tennessee, including the urbanized areas of Corbin and Middlesboro in Kentucky and Morristown in Tennessee.

US 25E follows the original pathway of early U.S. pioneer Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road,<ref name="kyroads">{{cite web |title=US 25 |url=https://www.kentuckyroads.com/us_25/ |website=KentuckyRoads.com |access-date=18 June 2023}}</ref> which contributed to the increased settlement of Appalachia given its access through the rugged Cumberland Gap. By 1815, the route became the first state-funded road in Tennessee and, in 1923, unsigned State Route 32 (SR 32) in the Tennessee State Route System in its statewide entirety. It would be recognized as part of the Dixie Highway, one of the earliest federal auto trails, in 1915. The route was officially established as US 25E with the creation of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926.

By 1965, economic conditions in Appalachia remained dire, and the formation of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) provided new incentive for US 25E as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS), designated as '''Corridor S''' in Tennessee and partially as Corridor F in both Tennessee and Kentucky.<ref name="approved">{{Cite web |url = http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1705 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071101022649/http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1705 |url-status = dead |title = ADHS Approved Corridors and Termini |archive-date = November 1, 2007 }}</ref> Corridor S follows US 25E between I-81 in Morristown to SR 63 (Corridor F) in Harrogate, and Corridor F follows the route from SR 63 to US 119 in Pineville. With its role in the ADHS, US 25E was planned for improvements as a regional limited-access highway between I-75 and I-81.

Initial construction work began in both states around the 1960s and 1970s but was accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s with additional federal funding for the section of US 25E between I-75 and I-81 with its designation as a federal truck route in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)'s National Network by 1982<ref name="ntn">{{cite web |author = ((Office of Highway Policy Information)) |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl08021/fig1_4.cfm |work = Our Nation's Highways 2008 |title = Figure 1-4: National Truck Network |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = February 5, 2021 }}</ref> and as '''High-Priority Corridor 12''' of the National Highway System by Congress in 1991 with the passing of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ITSEA).<ref name="istea"/> In 1996, the highway received national recognition with its realignment under the Cumberland Gap with the large-scale Cumberland Gap Tunnel project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=C. Butcher |first=Marianne |date=May 4, 2002 |title=Cumberland Gap: A Symbol of American Identity |url=https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/handle/189717/B88_2002ButcherMarianne.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=June 17, 2023 |website=Ball State University}}</ref> Considered a civil engineering achievement,<ref name="artba02">{{cite web |last1=Meachum |first1=Kelly |last2=Jeanneret |first2=Matt |title=Parkway System & Cumberland Gap Tunnel Project Selected Kentucky's Top Transportation Infrastructure Projects of 20th Century |url=http://www.artba.org/news/press_releases/2002/12-06b-02.htm |website=American Road & Transportation Builders Association |access-date=June 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030201213621/http://www.artba.org/news/press_releases/2002/12-06b-02.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2003 |date=December 6, 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mooney |first=Robert |date=1998 |title=1998 Excellence in Highway Design Category 9 - Highway Improvements on Publicly Owned Land Merit Award |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/cumberla.cfm |access-date=June 17, 2023 |website=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref> the tunnel is one of two in the entire U.S. that crosses state lines under a mountain.<ref name="cgt2001">{{cite web |last1=U.S. Federal Highway Administration Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division |title=The Cumberland Gap Tunnel : pioneering a new route to the past |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3952c.ct010443/ |website=Library of Congress |access-date=June 17, 2023 |date=2001}}</ref>

US 25E serves as an arterial expressway for long-distance travelers and truckers connecting central Appalachia to the Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard regions of the U.S. via access to I-75, I-81, and proximity to I-26 and I-40. Since the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel in 1996, upgrades to freeway-grade standards have been planned and constructed for US 25E in both states to improve regional freight movement.<ref name="noble"/><ref name="corrstudy"/><ref name="exit8"/>

In 2009, all of US 25E in Tennessee, along with US 25 from Newport to the North Carolina state line, was designated as the East Tennessee Crossing Byway, a National Scenic Byway.<ref>{{cite news |first = Duay |last = O'Neil |url = http://www.newportplaintalk.com/story/30367 |title = Hwy 25 East Is Now a National Scenic Byway |work = The Newport Plain Talk |date = October 20, 2009 |access-date = October 23, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714173015/http://www.newportplaintalk.com/story/30367 |archive-date = July 14, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Route description== US 25E is maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in the sections located in their respective states. Both states also have access to federal funding through the FHWA and ARC, given US 25E's designation as High-Priority Corridor 12 from its terminus at I-75 in North Corbin, Kentucky, to I-81 in Morristown, Tennessee, and Appalachian Highway corridors F in Kentucky and Tennessee and S in Tennessee, respectively. In addition, the FHWA contracts the maintenance and operations of US 25E in the Cumberland Gap Tunnel to Tunnel Management, Inc., a subsidiary of Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers.<ref name="tmiJMT">{{cite web |title=Pioneer Holdings to Join JMT |url=https://jmt.com/news-insights/pioneer-holdings-to-join-jmt/ |website=JMT |access-date=January 18, 2023 |date=2021 |archive-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203213811/https://jmt.com/news-insights/pioneer-holdings-to-join-jmt/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Tennessee=== ====French Broad River region==== thumb|The old J.M. Walters truss bridge, which carried US 25E across the French Broad River, until its demolition and replacement in 2017 US 25E begins in the western portion of the city of Newport in Cocke County where it forks at the signalized northern terminus of US 25 alongside US 25W/US 70. Northbound US 25 and westbound US 70 leave Newport toward Dandridge concurrent with one another. From Newport, US 25E continues as two-lane primary highway, meets the under-construction Newport Bypass (SR 35/US 321),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tennessee Department of Transportation |title=State Route 35 (US321) Newport Bypass, from State Route 9 (US 70) to near St. Tide Hollow Road |url=https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/state-route-35-us321-newport-bypass.html |access-date=June 19, 2023 |website=Tennessee Department of Transportation}}</ref> and enters unincorporated Cocke County through a rugged forested area near the community of Gum Spring approaching the Douglas Lake impoundment of the French Broad River. After briefly paralleling the eastern shoreline of the French Broad River at Webb Hollow,<ref name="tnky-ggm"/> US 25E exits Cocke County as it crosses over the French Broad at the concrete bulb-T beam J.M. Walters Bridge at the McNabb Bluff rock ledge.<ref name="walters bridge">{{cite news |last1 = Witt |first1 = Gerald |title = Video: TDOT destroys bridge |url = https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2017/03/20/video-tdot-destroys-bridge/99416552/ |access-date = January 3, 2023 |work = Knoxville News Sentinel |date = March 20, 2017 }}</ref>

US 25E then enters Jefferson County northeast of the resort city of Baneberry, through a rural rolling corridor in the unincorporated community of Leadvale before entering the town limits of White Pine at SR 341 (Roy Messer Highway/Old Airport Road). In the town of White Pine, US 25E becomes State Street, the main thoroughfare in the town providing access to the town's residential areas and central business district. Exiting White Pine at Walnut Street, US 25E passes through farmland and connects to Walters State Community College (WSCC)'s Great Smoky Mountains Expo Center approaching I-81 at exit 8 near the Jefferson–Hamblen county line.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/><ref name="wsexpo">{{cite web |title = Expo |url = https://www.ws.edu/expo/ |publisher = Walters State Community College |access-date = January 3, 2023 }}</ref>

====Morristown–Bean Station region==== Entering Hamblen County, US 25E widens to a four-lane divided expressway at I-81 exit 8 and is designated ADHS Corridor S and the '''Davy Crockett Parkway.''' US 25E then enters the southernmost city limits of Morristown near the East Tennessee Progress Center industrial park at a signalized intersection. It passes through a highway exit-oriented commercialized corridor in the neighborhood of Witt, passing by Witt Elementary School and intersecting SR 343 (Newport Highway), a former alignment of US 25E. North of SR 343, US 25E traverses a rural commercial area and meets the western terminus of SR 113 (Spencer Hale Road). US 25E ascends the forested Bays Mountain ridge and becomes a freeway. It meets SR 160 (Governor Dewitt Clinton Senter Highway), a southern bypass route of Morristown at a partial cloverleaf interchange.<ref name="tnky-ggm" /> US 25E then enters the central business district of Morristown, first accessing WSCC and College Square Mall at a split-single-point urban interchange at Walters State Community College Drive and Crockett Square Drive. Northbound, US 25E meets US 11E (Morris Boulevard) at its first partial cloverleaf interchange, sharing a brief concurrency with US 11E, until meeting another partial cloverleaf interchange where US 11E splits and heads eastbound as Andrew Johnson Highway. North of this interchange, US 25E downgrades to a limited-access four-lane highway along another exurban commercial corridor as it approaches the Hamblen–Grainger county line at the Cherokee Lake impoundment of the Holston River.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/> Before exiting Morristown, US 25E has an incomplete interchange with SR 343 (Buffalo Trail) and signalized intersection at Cherokee Park Road, a local collector road to SR 343.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/>

thumb|left|US 25E looking north toward Clinch Mountain in Bean Station US 25E then crosses the Holston River at the steel stringer beam Olen R. Marshall Memorial Bridge, becoming Appalachian Highway.<ref name="US25EHolston">{{cite web |title = FAP 32 over Holston River |url = http://bridgereports.com/1502194 |website = BridgeReports.com |access-date = January 3, 2023 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=June 2023}}</ref> After this crossing, US 25E enters the town of Bean Station in Grainger County, passing by tourist-based commercial development along a peninsula on the Cherokee Reservoir shoreline near Johnson Ridge. Exiting the tourist area on a rock-fill embankment surrounded by the Cherokee Reservoir shoreline, the highway traverses Collins Ridge, passing by the Crosby Pothole Nature Refuge and is surrounded by Cherokee Reservoir on another rock-fill embankment, before approaching the restricted junctions of Broadway Drive, an old alignment of US 25E, and the northern terminus of SR 375.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/> North of SR 375, US 25E becomes a freeway on a rock cut atop the Richland Knobs' Big Ridge, bypassing Bean Station's central business district to the west. Descending from the Big Ridge rock cut, US 25E meets US 11W at a trumpet interchange, beginning a short westbound concurrency with US 11W.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/> US 25E/US 11W continues northwest, downgrading to a limited-access highway through a minor commercial district on its north and an impounded German Creek on its south in west Bean Station. {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=In}} west of Bean Station at its town limits near Briar Fork Creek, US 25E splits from US 11W at an incomplete semi-directional T interchange near the southern base of Clinch Mountain, as US 11W heads westbound along the Richland Valley toward Knoxville. US 25E travels northbound through the Poor Valley ridge and ascends the southern slope of Clinch Mountain through a shale rock cut.<ref name="mcnally-tn-einset"/>

====Clinch Mountain–Cumberland Gap region==== [[File:TN-32Grainger.png|thumb|right|US 25E descending Clinch Mountain's southern slope toward Bean Station]] US 25E then ascends northbound toward Bean Gap on top of Clinch Mountain, providing access to a scenic overlook of the Clinch Mountain valley, and then descends down the northern slope of Clinch Mountain, where it meets SR 131 at a restricted-offset intersection in the unincorporated community of Thorn Hill.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/><ref name="mcnally-tn-einset">{{cite map |author = Rand McNally |title = The Road Atlas |edition = 2008 Large Scale |page = 193 |map = Eastern Tennessee |location = Chicago |publisher = Rand McNally }}</ref> North of Thorn Hill, US 25E traverses through the rugged forested Copper Ridge and Broken Valley area, passing by natural water springs and the former Imperial Tennessee marble quarry;<ref name="wolfeth">{{cite news |last1 = Wolfe |first1 = Tracey |title = County pursuing improved spring water access |url = https://www.graingertoday.com/news/county-pursuing-improved-spring-water-access/article_a29d2836-8ec6-11ec-9792-2f667943560e.html |work = Grainger Today |access-date = June 12, 2023 |date = February 16, 2022 |archive-date = June 13, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230613013818/https://www.graingertoday.com/news/county-pursuing-improved-spring-water-access/article_a29d2836-8ec6-11ec-9792-2f667943560e.html |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="claborn">{{cite news |last1 = Claborn |first1 = Jim |title = Thorn Hill's black marble |url = https://www.citizentribune.com/news/history/back-when/article_0c5a3772-ed7b-11e9-95e6-23462483cfc2.html |access-date = June 13, 2023 |work = Grainger Today |date = October 12, 2019 }}</ref> approaching the pre-stressed box girder Indian Creek bridge.<ref name="US25EIndian">{{cite web |title = FAP 32 over Indian Creek |url = http://bridgereports.com/1501685 |website = BridgeReports.com |access-date = January 3, 2023 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=June 2023}}</ref> After crossing Indian Creek, US 25E enters the Dry Valley region adjacent to the Clinch River. US 25E briefly parallels the Clinch River on its west side and the Dry Valley rock bluff on its east before crossing the river once again at the Grainger–Claiborne county border via a multi-beam girder bridge.<ref name="US25EClinch">{{cite web |title = FAP 32 over Clinch River |url = http://bridgereports.com/1501686 |website = BridgeReports.com |access-date = January 3, 2023 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=June 2023}}</ref>

Entering Claiborne County, US 25E winds through the forested and mountainous Caney Valley region and crosses the Norris Lake impoundment of Big Sycamore Creek on a stringer bridge.<ref name="US25EBigSycamore">{{cite web |title = FAP 32 over Big Sycamore Creek |url = http://bridgereports.com/1497902 |website = BridgeReports.com }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=June 2023}}</ref> North of Big Sycamore Creek, US 25E has an intersection with eastbound SR 33, beginning a brief concurrency northbound toward the town of Tazewell. US 25E/SR 33 exits the Caney Valley region and enters the rural unincorporated community of Springdale, crossing over Little Sycamore Creek and passing by Springdale Elementary School and the Tazewell–Claiborne County Airport.<ref name="tvspringdale">{{cite web |title = TopoViewer |url = https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#15/36.4207/-83.5321 |website = United States Geological Survey |access-date = June 13, 2023 }}</ref> North of Springdale, US 25E then ascends up Wallen Ridge passing by farmland and crosses over an old alignment of the road. After the overpass, the highway enters the southernmost town limits of Tazewell with access to Claiborne County High School but follows a J-shaped bypass around town's central business district. At the terminus of the bypass, US 25E splits from SR 33 in which the latter heads west toward Maynardville. US 25E heads north and immediately intersects SR 345 at its signalized eastern terminus. North of SR 345, US 25E follows a rural and commercialized corridor before exiting the northern city limits of Tazewell and enters a rugged rural corridor. It goes through a rock cut at Pine Hill, approaching the Powell River.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/>

thumb|left|US 25E at the US 58 junction with the historic Cumberland Gap visible

US 25E then immediately enters the southern city limits of Harrogate after crossing the Powell River on a girder bridge, picking up the '''Cumberland Gap Parkway''' designation. In Harrogate, US 25E passes through another rock cut near the Powell River State Natural Reserve on the northern side of the Powell River. The highway intersects Patterson Road, an old alignment of US 25E. North of Patterson Road, US 25E traverses a rural-forested corridor, passing by TDOT's Claiborne County garage. It meets eastbound SR 63 at a signalized and commercialized intersection, beginning a minor concurrency along a commercial corridor before meeting westbound SR 63 (Corridor F) at another traffic signal near the corner of Lincoln Memorial University (LMU)'s campus and Harrogate City Park. North of the western SR 63 junction, US 25E remains adjacent to LMU's campus on the west, and Harrogate's central business district on the east with two signalized entrances to LMU. Exiting Harrogate, US 25E enters the town limits of Cumberland Gap and upgrades to a freeway at the base of the Cumberland Mountains. It then encounters the western terminus of US 58 at a trumpet interchange and begins its approach to the Cumberland Gap Tunnel at the base of the Cumberland Gap. Before entering the tunnel, US 25E overpasses Tiprell Road and the Knoxville Cumberland Gap Railroad. Entering the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, US 25E crosses the Tennessee–Kentucky state line near the tunnel's midway point and exits Tennessee as a four-lane freeway.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/>

===Kentucky=== ====Cumberland Gap–Pine Mountain region==== thumb|left|The Kentucky entrance of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel Exiting the Cumberland Gap Tunnel and Tennessee, US 25E has a trumpet interchange with the entrance road for the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park before heading west to the city of Middlesboro in Bell County, where it downgrades to a four-lane highway, and intersects Kentucky Route 74 (KY 74). North of KY 74, US 25E continues through Middlesboro as North 12th Street, the main commercial thoroughfare, providing access to Middlesboro Mall and intersecting KY 441 before exiting northern Middlesboro's city limits, picking back up the Cumberland Gap Parkway designation for the rest of its duration in Kentucky. Between Middlesboro and the city of Pineville, US 25E travels through Kentucky Ridge State Forest/Pine Mountain State Resort Park in the Pine Mountain ridge and accesses Bell County High School. Entering the city limits of Pineville, US 25E meets US 119 (Corridor F). US 25E then becomes a horseshoe-shaped bypass of Pineville's central business district and intersects KY 66.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/>

====Barbourville–Cumberland River region==== [[File:Pine Mountain overlook KY.jpg|thumb|right|US 25E northbound, as seen from Pine Mountain]] Approaching the rural community of Flat Lick, US 25E crosses the Cumberland River twice, enters Knox County, and intersects KY 92. In Flat Lick, US 25E meets KY 930 and KY 223. US 25E then makes an S-shaped curve, dipping south then turning back northwest as it approaches the city of Barbourville, designed originally as a bypass. Instead, the route serves as the city's major commercial corridor, providing access to Union College, and meeting KY 225 and KY 11. US 25E then enters a rugged forested area in the Cumberland Plateau near the unincorporated community of Baileys Switch. Between Baileys Switch and Gray, US 25E gradually turns more east–west and witnesses a transition from rugged forested land to rolling farmland.<ref name="tnky-ggm"/>

====Corbin–North Corbin region==== Departing the rural community of Gray, the route's corridor begins transitioning from a rural setting to a more exurban-developed land-use as it approaches the conurbation of Corbin–North Corbin, with more consecutive signalized intersections with increased commercial development. US 25E then enters the city limits of Corbin at the northern terminus of KY 3041 (Corbin Bypass). Extending further east into a commercialized area of Corbin, the route also meets the northern terminus of KY 312. Past KY 312, the route then enters Laurel County and the unincorporated yet intensely developed community of North Corbin. US 25E then reunites with US 25W, and the unsuffixed US 25 at a heavily congestion intersection, dubbed by Kentucky transportation personnel as "Malfunction Junction", where US 25 continues north toward London.<ref name="noble"/> The US 25E designation, however, continues on an extension westbound to I-75, where it ends at exit 29.<ref name="his-laurel">{{cite web |url = http://transportation.ky.gov/dmireports/Official_MP_RL_Report.aspx?param=LAUREL |title = HIS Official Milepoint Route Log Report (Laurel County) |publisher = Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date = January 19, 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Overall, US 25E remains a multilane divided highway for its entire extent in Kentucky.<ref name="ktc-map-08">{{cite KYTC map |year = 2008 }}</ref>

==History==

===Pioneer era=== {{Main|Wilderness Road}} [[File:George Caleb Bingham - Daniel Boone escorting settlers through the Cumberland Gap.jpg|thumb|left|Daniel Boone guiding settlers through the Cumberland Gap on the Wilderness Road, the predecessor of US 25E]] The route of US 25E was recorded to be first traversed by Native Americans, predominately the Cherokee people, long before the Appalachian region was settled by European pioneers. During this period, the route was considered a part of the Cherokee Warriors' Path.<ref name="vacationTN">{{cite web |title = East Tennessee Crossing Byway |url = https://www.tnvacation.com/byways/east-tennessee/east-tennessee-crossing-byway |website = Tennessee Vacation |access-date = July 16, 2020 }}</ref> The pathway of US 25E was also known as the Buffalo Trail, named for a legend stating the path was formed from herds of buffalo traveling from Asheville, North Carolina to the Powell River near the Cumberland Gap for the river's salt licks.<ref name="brooks1">{{cite news |last1=Davis Brooks |first1=Cora |title=History of Morristown: 1787-1936 |url=https://newspapers.com/image/586788638/ |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=The Morristown Sun |date=September 4, 1955 |page=9}}</ref> Most notably, the pathway of the Corbin to Bean Station section of US 25E was utilized as famous pioneer and settler, Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road, being used for early interstate travel through the Cumberland Gap, aiding interstate travel in Appalachia.<ref name="FHWA"/><ref name="coffeygreat">{{cite web |last1 = Coffey |first1 = Ken |title = The Great Wilderness Road |url = http://graingertnhistory.com/story_1/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170125224055/http://graingertnhistory.com/story_1/ |archive-date = January 25, 2017 |via = Grainger County Historical Society |publisher = Thomas Daugherty |access-date = May 30, 2021 |date = October 19, 2012 }}</ref> Among the early settlers using the Wilderness Road was William Bean, the recorded first European U.S. settler of the state of Tennessee. Bean would establish the outpost of Bean Station, which served as the new southern terminus of the Wilderness Road, in 1776.<ref name="coffeygreat"/> By 1821, the Tennessee section of the Wilderness Road from the Cumberland Gap to Bean Station would be established as the Bean Station Turnpike and would receive state funding while being a privately owned toll route due to its regional importance. From 1821 to 1915, the Bean Station Turnpike was overseen by an elected road commission that consisted of residents of Grainger and Claiborne counties.<ref name="pahr">{{cite web |title = Private Acts: Highways & Roads |date = May 9, 2011 |url = https://grainger.tngenealogy.net/private-acts-highways-roads |publisher = Grainger County Genealogy & History |access-date = May 5, 2021 }}</ref>

===Early auto travel and U.S. numbering=== upright=0.75|thumb|right|1926-era US 25E signage in downtown Cumberland Gap In 1915, the initial Bean Station Turnpike, along with a southward extension to Morristown and the old Wilderness Road from Cumberland Gap to Corbin, was designated as part of the Dixie Highway, one of the first federal auto trails. These were among the earliest known national highways developed in the U.S.<ref name="FHWA">{{cite web |title = East Tennessee Crossing |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/byways/76017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131005085609/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/byways/76017 |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 5, 2013 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = July 15, 2020 }}</ref> That same year, the Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works, the predecessor agency to TDOT, was formed and tasked with establishing a state highway system.<ref name=tdothistory>{{cite web |url = https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/documents/TDOT-History.pdf |title = Brief History of TDOT |author = Tennessee Department of Transportation |date = 2014 |publisher = Tennessee Department of Transportation |access-date = April 28, 2020 |archive-date = January 23, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200123205455/https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/documents/TDOT-History.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref> On October 1, 1923, the Tennessee section of the route was designated as SR 32 with the approval of the initial routes of the Tennessee State Route System.<ref>{{cite book |type = Report |author1 = Highway Planning Survey Division |year = 1925 |title = Biennial Report of the Commissioner of the Department of Highways and Public Works State of Tennessee for the Years 1923 and 1924 |url = https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/documents/100years/Biennial_Report%2c_Department_of_Highways_1923%2c_1924.pdf |location = Nashville |publisher = Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works |access-date = May 19, 2023 |pages = 39–44 |oclc = }}</ref>

The first portion in Tennessee to be paved was a section between Tazewell and Harrogate, which took place between 1918 and 1922.<ref>{{Cite map |author = Austin Peay Campaign Committee |year = 1926 |url = https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll23/id/9968 |title = Highway Map of Tennessee Showing the Construction Progress During 8 Year Period 1918–1926, on Federal and State Aid Roads |scale = Scale not given |location = Nashville |publisher = Austin Peay Campaign Committee |via = Tennessee Virtual Archive }}</ref> The {{convert|5.4|mi|km|adj=on}} section between White Pine and Morristown was paved between October 1935 and April 1936.<ref>{{cite news |author =  |date = October 12, 1935 |title = Highway Contract Awarded Atlanta Firm |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/morristown-gazette-mail-highway-contract/125092735/ |page = 1 |work = Morristown Gazette and Mail |access-date = May 21, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author =  |date = April 13, 1936 |title = Paving Completed on Route 32 Strip |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/125091928/paving-completed-on-route-32-strip/ |page = 7 |work = The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date = May 21, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Paving of the Jefferson County portion was completed in late 1936.<ref>{{cite news |author =  |date = March 29, 1937 |title = Cocke Countians Urge Completion of 25-E |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/morristown-gazette-mail-cocke-countians/125091773/ |page = 1 |work = Morristown Gazette and Mail |access-date = May 21, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> By November 1926, concrete pavement on the portion of the route between Corbin and Barbourville in Kentucky was complete.<ref name="corbin26">{{cite news |title=State Road Conditions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/681172132/?terms=U.S.%2025%20East%20concrete%20Corbin&match=1 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |work=The Lexington Herald |date=November 14, 1926 |page=3}}</ref> In July 1928, all Dixie Highway signage on the route in Kentucky was removed and replaced with US 25E signage.<ref name="tlh28">{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=Dixie Highway, One of Nation's Most Important National Roads, Virtually Completed in State |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lexington-herald-dixie-highway-one/126869491/ |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Lexington Herald |date=July 1, 1928 |pages=4}}</ref> All of US 25E was paved with asphalt, concrete, or treated macadam by the beginning of 1928.<ref name="KYTCmap29">{{cite web |last1=Kentucky State Highway Department |title=Map of Kentucky showing Condition of State Roads |url=https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Maps/1929KYF.pdf |website=Kentucky State Highway Department |access-date=June 18, 2023 |date=January 1, 1928 |author1-link=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet }}</ref> The route in Kentucky would be entirely paved by December 1934.<ref name="htg34">{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=How to Go |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/107379686/?terms=Paving%20US%2025E%20Corbin%20Middlesboro&match=1 |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Courier-Journal |date=December 2, 1934 |page=8}}</ref>

During the Prohibition era of 1920–1933, the route from the Cumberland Gap to Tazewell, along with SR 33 from Tazewell to Knoxville, was part of the infamous "Thunder Road", which was used by bootleggers to illegally transport and trade moonshine across state lines.<ref name="Bowers">{{cite news |last1 = Bowers |first1 = Larry |title = Deciphering fact from fiction of 'Thunder Road' |url = http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/deciphering-fact-from-fiction-of-thunder-road,25146 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190303155307/http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/deciphering-fact-from-fiction-of-thunder-road,25146 |url-status = dead |archive-date = March 3, 2019 |access-date = July 20, 2020 |work = Cleveland Daily Banner |date = January 3, 2016 }}</ref> The story was later fictionally adapted into a 1958 crime-drama film and song of the same name.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q3526060|id=tt0052293|title=Thunder Road (1958)}}</ref>

thumb|left|The old D.A. Green Bridge, constructed to carry US 25E after TVA's Cherokee Dam project in 1942 By 1936, the Clinch River Valley portion of US 25E was relocated and reconstructed to make way for the valley's inundation as part of the Norris Dam project by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This project included the construction of two concrete deck girder bridges at Big Sycamore Creek in Claiborne County and Indian Creek in Grainger County, respectively. This project, including the new bridges, cost TVA a total of $17,000 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|16953.46|1936}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="TVANorris">{{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=T.B. |author2-link=Tennessee Valley Authority |last2=Tennessee Valley Authority |title=The Norris Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Tennessee Valley Authority's First Water Control Project |date=April 17, 1939 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |pages=519–222, 619 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlnVAAAAMAAJ |access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref>

In 1941, the Bean Station–Holston River section of US 25E was also relocated by TVA for its Cherokee Dam hydroelectric project near Jefferson City. TVA constructed a new truss bridge over the Holston River carrying US 25E between the Grainger and Hamblen county line and relocated US 25E east of its original intersection at US 11W in the old town of Bean Station, close to the Grainger and Hawkins county border. The reconstruction of US 25E would cost TVA $871,600 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|871639|1941}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) and an additional $602,500 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|602541|1941}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) for the Holston River bridge between Bean Station and Morristown.<ref name="TVACherokee">{{cite book |last1=Blee |first1=C.E. |author2-link=Tennessee Valley Authority |last2=Tennessee Valley Authority |title=The Cherokee Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Cherokee Project |date=September 9, 1946 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |pages=255–260, 286 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlbVAAAAMAAJ |access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref>

US 25E between Middlesboro and the Cumberland Gap was reconstructed to add a truck climbing lane in 1953.<ref name="Trout">{{cite news |last1=Trout |first1=Allan M. |title=State Ready To Spend More Than $14,200,000 On Trunk Roads In 1953 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-state-ready-to-spend/126868854/ |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville |date=January 4, 1953 |at=sec. 3, p. 4}}</ref> In November 1955, KYTC announced a $3-billion (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|3000000000|1955}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) 20-year comprehensive plan for statewide roadway improvements, including a proposal for US 25E to become a four-lane median divided limited-access highway for its entire length in the state.<ref name="patterson55">{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Malcolm |title=20-Year Road Program Would Mean Spending At Daily Rate of 12 Cents Per Person In State |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/661065311/?terms=%20US%2025E%20By-Pass%20Middlesboro&match=2 |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Park City Daily News |date=November 21, 1955 |page=6}}</ref> In December 1958, a {{convert|5.2|mi|km|adj=on}} relocation of US 25E in Kentucky from Barbourville northbound to Garrich ({{convert|6|mi|km|disp=sqbr|spell=in}} west of Gray) was awarded to Oman Construction of Nashville for a cost of $2.297 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|2297626|1958}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="vance59">{{cite news |last1=Vance |first1=Kyle |title=Last-Day Flurry of Road Awards Sets Record High |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/108651605/?terms=%20US%2025E%20Construction&match=1 |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Courier-Journal |date=January 1, 1959 |page=1}}</ref> Relocation work on a {{convert|5|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} section south of Barbourville to Bimble was announced in 1962.<ref name="tps62">{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=50 Persons Call On Combs at Middlesboro |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/683658376/?terms=%20US%2025E%20Construction&match=1 |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=The Paducah Sun |date=June 27, 1962 |page=10}}</ref>

===Upgrades to support Appalachian freight movement=== {{Expand section|provide more references and detail of the design and construction phases of preferably all sections of the US 25E corridor|date=May 2023|small=no}} With the increased use of the corridor, many portions of US 25E gradually became deficient, leading to plans for its widening and relocation. In 1965, the US 25E corridor from the proposed I-75 in North Corbin to the proposed I-81 in Morristown was proposed as Corridor S of the ADHS, which was created by the Appalachian Regional Development Act that year.<ref name="grayson">{{cite web |last1 = Grayson |first1 = Calvin |title = Appalachian Development Highway System in Kentucky |url = https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=ktc_proceedings |via = University of Kentucky |publisher = Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date = June 26, 2021 |date = 1965 }}</ref><ref name="fhwaic">{{cite book |title = SR-32 Relocation, Appalachian Corridor S, Indian Creek to Briar Fork Creek, Grainger County Environmental Impact Statement |date = 1975 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h4E2AQAAMAAJ |access-date = January 2, 2021 |via = Google Books}}</ref> Kentucky officials asked for the designation in Kentucky to be removed, with Corridor S only designated on US 25E in Tennessee.<ref name="grayson"/>

====Interstate Highway System==== In the same year, then Kentucky Governor Ned Breathitt announced a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} four-lane extension of US 25E, coined the "US 25 Connector", from its terminus from its conjunction into US 25 with US 25W in Corbin, to the under-construction I-75 at a diamond interchange to provide better access to Middlesboro and entering Tennessee.<ref name="morris65">{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Hugh |title=I-75, U.S. 25-E Plans Told |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/107158938/?terms=Interstate%2075%20US%2025E%20Corbin&match=1 |access-date=June 14, 2023 |work=The Courier-Journal |date=April 16, 1965}}</ref> This extension was completed by 1970.<ref name="KY312EIS">{{cite book |author1=Federal Highway Administration |author2=Kentucky Department of Highways Design Division |title=KY-312/I-75 Connector, Laurel County Environmental Impact Statement |date=January 16, 1973 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kH82AQAAMAAJ |access-date=June 14, 2023}}</ref> US 25E was also reconstructed to a four-lane with a partial cloverleaf interchange at I-81 near the Witt area of Hamblen County south of Morristown in Tennessee. The contract to construct the related section of I-81 between the southern terminus with I-40 and US 25E near Morristown was awarded in June 1964<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=June 14, 1964 |title=I-81 Stretch Set for Bids |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110499955/i-81-stretch-set-for-bids/ |page=A-8 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=October 2, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= |date=May 12, 1964 |title=I-81 Stretch Bids Slated |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110499500/i-81-stretch-bids-slated/ |page=2 |work=The Knoxville Journal |access-date=October 2, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and completed in December 1966, along with the connecting section of I-40.<ref>{{cite news |author =  |title = Traffic May Utilize New Interstate Highway Segment |page = 2 |work = The Dandridge Banner |date = December 18, 1966}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=|title=Interstate highways to be opened|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56527490/interstate-highways-to-be-opened/|page=24|work=Johnson City Press-Chronicle|agency=United Press International|date=October 22, 1966|access-date=2020-04-30|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

====Clinch Mountain cut and geological difficulties==== For the Clinch Mountain section of US 25E, TDOT engineers finalized two design alternatives, a dual-bore tunnel through the mountain which reduced environmental impacts to the landscape, or a deep cut along the mountain slope providing scenic views of the Clinch Mountain ridge. Citing the high cost of the tunnel proposal and local business opposition,<ref name="Yarborough65">{{cite news |last = Yarborough |first = Willard |title = Natives Don't Want Tunnel on Corridor |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-natives-don/126326130/ |access-date = June 12, 2023 |work = The Knoxville News Sentinel |date = December 22, 1965 |page = 17 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> TDOT decided on a deep cut.<ref name="fhwaic"/> On September 13, 1976, work began on the {{convert|3.4|mi|km|adj=on}} section between the southern foot and the summit of Clinch Mountain.<ref>{{cite news |author =  |date = October 20, 1976 |title = Highway Begins Climb at Clinch |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/kingsport-times-highway-begins-climb-at/124168249/ |page = 1 |work = Kingsport Times News |edition = Hawkins |access-date = May 21, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Work on the {{convert|5|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} connecting section from the summit to south of the Clinch River began in early 1977. Both projects ran into extensive geological problems, which delayed their completion, and increased the cost of the first contract from an initial bid amount of $5.1 million to $10 million.<ref name="Yarbrough">{{cite news |last = Yarbrough |first = William |date = September 28, 1980 |title = Appalachia Finds Path to Prosperity on Safe Highways |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-appalachia-f/124110286/ |page = A6 |work = The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date = May 21, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5100000|1977}}}} to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|10000000|1977}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}). The project between US 11W at Bean Station and the gap at Clinch Mountain was completed in July 1980.<ref name="Yarbrough"/> The project south of the Clinch River to the gap at Clinch Mountain included plans for a grade-separated interchange at SR 131 in Thorn Hill, but the interchange project was removed from final construction.<ref name="Yarbrough"/><ref name="greene"/>

====Cumberland Gap bypass==== In 1969, construction work on a {{Convert|13|mi|km|adj=on}} four-lane bypass around the town of Cumberland Gap from the terminus of US 58 to north of the Powell River bridge in Harrogate started.<ref name="knt69">{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=Bids Asked for New Hammond Bridge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/592523377/?terms=%22Appalachian%20Highway%22%20%22Morristown%22&match=1 |access-date=June 19, 2023 |work=Kingsport Times-News |date=February 26, 1969 |page=1-B}}</ref> By 1976, the work on this section in Claiborne County and part of Virginia was complete.<ref name="usgs76 map">{{cite web |title=Middlesboro South, KY. - TENN. - VA. |url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=290ad2e616b07876fac8f326f06d02cc |website=United States Geological Survey |access-date=June 19, 2023 |format=Orthophotoquad Map |date=1976}}</ref>

====Morristown Bypass project==== thumb|left|Construction on the Morristown Bypass section of US 25E at SR 160, 1976

Citing congestion and increased heavy truck traffic on Cumberland Street/Buffalo Trail, the existing alignment of US 25E through Morristown's downtown and central business district was highlighted for replacement with a new four-lane partial-controlled access highway known as the Morristown Bypass to remove heavy truck traffic through downtown Morristown as part of the ADHS plan.<ref name="fhwaic"/>

Construction work on the four-lane Morristown Bypass from I-81 exit 8 to south of the Holston River started by June 1973.<ref>{{cite book |title=1973-1978 Annual Report of the Appalachian Regional Commission |date=1973–1978 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XlEE5wKSA8C |access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> In the Morristown Bypass, US 25E was realigned east of its original alignment through Morristown's central business district. Four interchanges were constructed, including a partial cloverleaf interchange at SR 160, two partial cloverleaf interchanges at US 11E (East Morris Boulevard and Andrew Johnson Highway), and an incomplete half-Y interchange at Buffalo Trail, US 25E's then existing alignment. The Morristown Bypass was completed by 1977.<ref name="grainger81EIS">{{cite book |author1=Federal Highway Administration |author2=Tennessee Department of Transportation |title=State Route 32 (U.S. RT. 25 E. Appalachian Corridor "S") Holston River Bridge to Briar Fork Creek, Grainger County, Tennessee Final Environmental Impact Statement |date=July 6, 1981 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c6U1AQAAMAAJ |access-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref> By the completion of the Morristown Bypass, a new bridge over the Holston River between Bean Station and Morristown was announced for construction bids, at a preliminary cost of $8.25 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|8250000|1977}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) for the new four-lane bridge alone.<ref name="77hrbridge">{{cite news |last1=Staff |title=$8 Million Holston Bridge Eyed for Grainger, Hamblen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/595133054/?terms=Hamblen%20County%20Four%20lane%20US%2025E&match=1 |access-date=June 18, 2023 |work=Kingsport Times-News |date=November 25, 1977 |page=1B}}</ref> The new bridge would be complete by 1980.<ref name="Yarbrough"/>

====Pineville Bypass and other Kentucky construction projects==== In 1977, KYTC finalized designs of a {{Convert|2.2|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} four-lane bypass for US 25E paralleling the Cumberland River in Pineville, supported by a floodwall.<ref name="floodwall77">{{cite news |last1 = McWilliams |first1 = Terry |title = New 25-E: Pineville Residents Prefer Building New Four-Lane Highway On The Top Of Much Higher Floodwall |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-corbin-times-tribune-new-25-e/125679684/ |pages = 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-corbin-times-tribune-flood-wall-high/125679731/ 12] |access-date = June 1, 2023 |work = The Corbin Times-Tribune |date = October 10, 1977 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> By this time, US 25E in Kentucky had been widened to four lanes in several sections; Corbin to west Barbourville and south to Middlesboro.<ref name="cohn">{{cite news |last = Cohn |first = Ray |title = State Hoping Head Start on U.S. 25-E Will Result in Federal Funds |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lexington-herald-state-hoping-head-s/126326080/ |page = A-11 |access-date = June 3, 2023 |work = The Lexington Herald |date = December 22, 1977 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> US 25E in its entirety in Kentucky would be widened to a four-lane expressway by late 1993 to early 1994 to prepare for the Cumberland Gap Tunnel's completion.<ref name="tunnelskns">{{cite news |title = Lack of funding slows U.S. 25E widening |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-lack-of-fund/126326340/ |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-tunnels/126326347/ A12] |access-date = June 9, 2023 |work = The Knoxville News Sentinel |date = September 15, 1991 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Tennessee transportation personnel proposed plans in 1979 to rename US 25E to US 25, as US 25W had largely paralleled or was concurrent to the I-75 corridor. The plan, however, was dismissed following dissent from Kentucky officials.<ref name="vahighways">{{cite web |title = US 25E |url = http://www.vahighways.com/tn-annex/routes/us25e.htm |website = Virginia Highways Project |access-date = July 28, 2021 |date = February 6, 2021 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=July 2021}}</ref><ref name="US119VA">{{cite web |last1=Strong |first1=Dave |title=US 119 |url=http://vahighways.com/route-log/us119.htm |website=Virginia Highway Index |access-date=June 14, 2022 |date=1998}}</ref>

thumb|right|Cross-section of the relocated US 25E (Pineville Bypass) project, 1982 Throughout the 1970s to the 1990s, highway improvement projects conducted by a joint-effort between TDOT, the FHWA, and ARC began to widen US 25E between the town of Cumberland Gap to I-81 south of the city of Morristown into a limited-access and partial controlled-access highway.<ref name="fhwaic"/> Transportation and engineering personnel in Kentucky would widen the route from I-75 to the city of Middlesboro in preparation of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel project.<ref name="merchant"/>

====Holston River and Bean Station bypass==== [[File:US 25E at US 11W, Bean Station, TN, 1981 - Realignment page-0001.jpg|thumb|right|Preliminary design of a trumpet interchange at US 11W for the Holston River to Bean Station US 25E project, July 1981]] In 1986, funding for the widening of US 25E into a four-lane limited-access highway from US 11W at Bean Station to the Holston River Bridge at Morristown would be funded through then Governor Lamar Alexander's Bicentennial Parkway Trust Fund, which was supported through increased gas taxes.<ref>{{cite news |last = Humphrey |first = Tom |date = January 15, 1986 |title = Pellissippi funding in governor's plan |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115778437/pellissippi-funding-in-governors-plan/ |pages = A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115778470/roads/ A2] |work = The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date = October 27, 2022 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Construction work on the {{Convert|4.5|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section, in coordination with the widening of US 11W between US 25E at Bean Station and an existing four-lane section was complete by the end of 1990.<ref>{{cite book |author1 = Appalachian Regional Commission |title = 1987 Annual Report |date = March 31, 1992 |publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tgviBV0WTHkC&q=US%2025E |chapter = Commission Programs: 1990 in Review |via=Google Books}}</ref> Construction work started on a new alignment for US 25E from the realigned US 11W to the southern base of Clinch Mountain by 1995. It was completed in 1998 with a trumpet interchange at the eastern concurrency terminus of US 11W with an incomplete interchange at the western concurrency terminus of US 11W, with two new bridges at Briar Fork Creek for US 11W westbound towards Knoxville.<ref name="people">{{cite book |last1=Grainger County Heritage Book Committee |title=Grainger County, Tennessee and Its People 1796-1998 |date=January 1, 1999 |publisher=Walsworth Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rHbtgAACAAJ |access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref> With the signing of ISTEA in 1991, the US 25E corridor from I-75 at Corbin to I-81 at Morristown was designated as High-Priority Corridor 12, making it as part of the National Highway System.<ref name="istea">{{cite web |publisher = Government Publishing Office |title = Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, as Amended, §§1105(c)(12) and (f)(25) |access-date = July 12, 2020 |url = https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-1422/ }}</ref> With ISTEA, any future projects on the corridor of US 25E became eligible to federal funding up to 80 percent, with the states of Tennessee and Kentucky having to provide the remaining 20 percent.<ref name="browncj">{{cite news |last1 = Brown |first1 = Mike |title = Highway bill would bring two projects to Kentucky |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-highway-bill-would-b/126326492/ |access-date = June 9, 2023 |work = The Courier-Journal |location = Louisville |date = July 20, 1991 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

====Clinch River Valley and Tazewell Bypass==== By 1992, funding for the survey and design of US 25E between Tazewell and the Springdale community in Claiborne County was allocated by Governor Ned McWherter's state budget.<ref name="roadskns92"> The {{cite news |last = Humphrey |first = Tom |title = Pellissippi Parkway funding in budget |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-pellissippi/126326538/ |pages=BC1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-roads/126326565/ BC3] |access-date = May 29, 2023 |work = The Knoxville News Sentinel |date = March 19, 1992 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1994, TDOT would announce a multi-stage plan to widen and relocate a {{Convert|18.2|mi|km|-long|adj=mid}} section US 25E between Thorn Hill in Grainger County to south of Harrogate in Claiborne County to prepare for the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. The project would be split into four sections, from north of Indian Creek to the Clinch River in Grainger County, from the Clinch River to south of Tazewell, a {{convert|0.9|mi|km|adj=on}} bypass around Tazewell until Anders Street, and from Anders Street to an existing four-lane section south of Harrogate.<ref name="DeLozier">{{cite news |last1 = DeLozier |first1 = Stan |title = Roads in Grainger, Claiborne to be widened in tunnel project |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-news-sentinel-roads-in-gra/126326611/ |access-date = June 9, 2023 |date = October 26, 1994 |work = Knoxville News Sentinel |page = A5 |via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Before the completion of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, US 25E saw increased congestion following an uptick in truck traffic bypassing I-75 through Campbell County and Knoxville.<ref name="merchant">{{cite news |last1 = Merchant |first1 = Heidi |title = Cumberland Gap Tunnel Paves the Way for Economic Development |url = http://mars.unionky.edu/express/archives/October0699/cumberland_gap_tunnel.html |access-date = February 3, 2021 |work = Union Express |date = October 15, 1999 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040925084928/http://mars.unionky.edu/express/archives/October0699/cumberland_gap_tunnel.html |archive-date = September 25, 2004 }}</ref> The route is considered an alternate corridor of I-75 attractive to commuters to regional metropolises such as Morristown and Corbin–North Corbin and truckers alike connecting to I-81 and I-75, bypassing the congested stretch of I-75 in Knoxville and the stretch north of Knoxville through the Cumberland Mountains, which is prone to rockslides.<ref name="corrstudy">{{cite web |title = U.S. 25E Corridor Study: Morristown, Tennessee |url = https://342ba995-c7e1-46d7-a1e2-84ad5d0d972c.filesusr.com/ugd/cffdbd_b2242e02d907464a9ae8dd079c2fc07e.pdf |publisher = Lakeway Area Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization |author = Wilber Smith Associates |access-date = October 22, 2020 |date = February 2003 }}</ref>

===Cumberland Gap Tunnel project=== {{Main|Cumberland Gap Tunnel}}

[[File:US 25E - Earthworks at the Tennessee entrance of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.jpg|thumb|right|Earthworks for US 25E northbound approaching the Tennessee entrance of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel.]] In the mid-to-late 20th century, US 25E between Middlesboro and Cumberland Gap had seen an uptick in fatal collisions, with the stretch of highway through the Cumberland Gap nicknamed "Massacre Mountain".<ref name="cgt15"/> In a 1985 report published by the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding US 25E through the gap, KYTC reported 239 collisions with 19 fatalities between 1967 and 1978 between Middlesboro and the Virginia state line. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) would report 42 accidents with one fatality between the Tennessee and Kentucky state lines from 1953 to 1977 in the same report.<ref name="DOI85">{{cite book |title = Department of the Interior and related agencies appropriations for 1986 |date = February 27, 1985 |publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office |pages = 708–751 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rUr25pB1Re0C&dq=kentucky+transportation+cabinet+US+25E&pg=PA737 |access-date = May 29, 2023 }}</ref> In 1973, officials with the National Park Service (NPS) received initiatives to construct tunnels underneath the Cumberland Gap in order to resolve the accidents and restore the Cumberland Gap to its pioneer-era state of the 1770s, a motion set forth by the establishment of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park by Congress in 1940. The plan, consisting of the construction of twin {{convert|4600|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} tunnels, {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} of new a four-lane controlled-access US 25E, two interchanges, seven bridges, and the restoration of the Cumberland Gap, was presented with a cost of $265 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|265000000|1973}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) and was led by joint effort between the NPS and FHWA. Design work for the project started in 1979, and construction on the tunnels and the new four-lane US 25E began in 1985.<ref name="cgt15">{{cite web |title = Cumberland Gap Highway Tunnel Celebrates 15th Anniversary |url = https://www.nps.gov/cuga/learn/news/cumberland-gap-highway-tunnel-celebrates-15th-anniversary.htm |website = Cumberland Gap National Historical Park |publisher = National Park Service |access-date = February 3, 2021 |date = October 11, 2011 }}</ref>

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel would open in 1996, completely bypassing Cumberland Gap and Virginia.<ref name="cgt15"/> US 58 was moved to a new alignment along a short stretch of old US 25E to meet the new four-lane US 25E in Tennessee, decommissioning US 25E entirely in Virginia. As the remainder of old US 25E through Virginia and Kentucky lay within the boundaries of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, its pavement was torn up and the path was restored into a hiking trail along the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap.<ref>{{cite map |url = https://www.nps.gov/cuga/planyourvisit/upload/CUGAmap1-3.pdf |format = PDF |title = Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Map |publisher = National Park Service }}</ref>

====Post-tunnel improvements==== [[File:US 25E - College Park Drive - TDOT Preliminary Design.jpg|thumb|left|Preliminary geometric design of a split single-point urban interchange in Morristown near WSCC. This reconstruction removed two signalized intersections on US 25E to improve traffic flow.]] Since the 2000s, congestion from truck and commuter traffic and the issue of access control has brought several projects in Tennessee and Kentucky on upgrading US 25E up to Interstate Highway standards.<ref name="exit8reconfig">{{cite news |title = From the archives, 2013; TDOT opens 81 access ramp at Exit 8 |url = https://www.citizentribune.com/newsnow/from-the-archives-2013-tdot-opens-81-access-ramp-at-exit-8/article_518a50fa-e9dc-11e8-96df-2798395418ac.html |access-date = December 31, 2022 |work = Citizen Tribune |date = November 16, 2018 }}</ref> Kentucky transportation officials cited the route as a "travel corridor the Eastern Seaboard (via connection to Interstate 40 and Interstate 81 in Tennessee) for through traffic".<ref name="noble">{{cite news |last1 = Jeff |first1 = Noble |title = U.S. 25E plans revealed at meeting |url = https://www.thetimestribune.com/news/local_news/u-s-25e-plans-unveiled-at-meeting/article_0715b9f7-e86f-5dad-944e-3c69b3aef121.html |access-date = March 9, 2020 |work = The Times Tribune |date = October 18, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="runions">{{cite news |last1 = Runions |first1 = Jan |title = County takes another look at Cedar Fork/U.S. 25E |url = https://www.claiborneprogress.net/2019/06/21/county-takes-another-look-at-cedar-forku-s-25e/ |access-date = March 9, 2021 |work = Claiborne Progress |date = June 21, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="kytcsouth">{{cite web |title = U.S. 25 South Leg |url = https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictEleven/Pages/U.S.-25-South-Leg.aspx |publisher = Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date = March 9, 2021 }}</ref>

Construction work on a new split single-point urban interchange at College Park Drive near WSCC for US 25E started in Morristown on September 2, 2011, by general contractor Summers-Taylor, Inc., of Elizabethton. The project, consisting of lowering the grade of US 25E, constructing two frontage roads and three bridges, was completed on October 24, 2015, at a cost of $17.28 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|17279302.97|2015}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="collegeparkdrive">{{cite web |title=(Final) Estimate Summary to Contractor Report: nterchange at College Park Drive in Morristown |url=https://www.tdot.tn.gov/PublicDocuments//Construction/Progress_Payments/Final%20Estimates/CNK%20contracts/CNK802-47.pdf |website=Tennessee Department of Transportation |access-date=June 22, 2023 |date=April 12, 2018}}</ref>

Between September 2011 and June 2014, US 25E at I-81 exit 8 was modified in a project that replaced the southbound loop onramp with a traditional diamond bridge ramp, widened the radius of the northbound loop exit ramp, replaced the US 25E overpass with a four-lane bridge, and added turn lanes at the intersections with the ramps. This project was necessitated by the hazardous conditions of the previous two-lane configuration, and the adoption of US 25E as part of an alternate route to I-75.<ref name="exit8">{{cite news |title = From the archives, 2013; TDOT opens 81 access ramp at Exit 8 |url = https://www.citizentribune.com/newsnow/from-the-archives-2013-tdot-opens-81-access-ramp-at-exit-8/article_518a50fa-e9dc-11e8-96df-2798395418ac.html |access-date = December 31, 2022 |work = Citizen Tribune |date = November 16, 2018 }}</ref>

In 2017, design work started on an intersection relocation project of SR 131 near Thorn Hill in Grainger County at US 25E, which shifted the eastern and western junctions of SR 131 north and south of each other, respectively.<ref name="greene">{{cite news |last1 = Greene |first1 = Chynna |title = Changes coming for deadly intersection in Grainger County |url = https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Changes-comnig-for-deadly-intersection-in-Grainger-County-435902923.html |access-date = June 1, 2023 |work = WVLT-TV |location = Knoxville |date = July 21, 2017 }}</ref> The project was completed in July 2021 by contractor Charles Blalock and Sons, Inc., at a bid price of $3.98 million.<ref name="etdd721">{{cite web |last1 = Tennessee Department of Transportation |title = TDOT Project Status |url = https://www.etdd.org/wp-content/uploads/Grainger-TDOT-Project-Status-Report-7-12-21.pdf |website = East Tennessee Development District |access-date = June 1, 2023 }}</ref>

In February 2018, KYTC started work on a widening and access management project on US 25E between the US 25/US 25W terminus and the intersection at KY 3041 (Corbin Bypass). With a cost of $8.8 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|8800000|2020}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}), the project consisted of the removal of existing traffic lights and being replaced with restricted J-turn intersections, new frontage roads, and the widening of US 25E from four to six lanes, being completed in 2020.<ref name="corbin19">{{cite news |last1 = Mills |first1 = Jarrod |title = Road construction along 25E nears completion |url = https://www.thetimestribune.com/news/local_news/road-construction-along-25e-nears-completion/article_96322621-d58e-594d-b39a-b766ea6e887f.html |access-date = June 11, 2023 |work = Corbin Times-Tribune |date = October 18, 2019 }}</ref>

As of 2013, {{convert|26.5|mi|km}} has been completed of Corridor S along US 25E, while {{convert|22.2|mi|km}} remains to be constructed, which consists of rest areas and design and construction of interchanges to meet Interstate Highway standards along the stretch of US 25E-labeled corridors F and S.<ref name="plansep2013">{{cite book |title = Appalachian Development Highway System Completion Plan Report |url = https://www.arc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ADHSCompletionPlanReport-9-2013.pdf |publisher = Appalachian Regional Commission |access-date = December 13, 2020 |date = September 2013 }}</ref><ref name=ARC-TN>{{cite book |publisher = Appalachian Regional Commission |url = http://www.arc.gov/noindex/programs/transp/adhs_status_report_2013/ADHSFY2013StatusReportTennessee.pdf |title = Status of Corridors in Tennessee |date = September 30, 2013 |access-date = June 30, 2014 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140705024500/http://www.arc.gov/noindex/programs/transp/adhs_status_report_2013/ADHSFY2013StatusReportTennessee.pdf |archive-date = July 5, 2014 }}</ref>

==Major intersections== {{jcttop|exit|length_ref=<ref name="his-laurel"/><ref name="tnky-ggm">{{google maps |access-date = January 2, 2021 |url = https://www.google.com/maps/dir/35.971744,-83.211093/36.08897,-83.27453/36.1106,-83.28437/36.136901,-83.280061/36.161619,-83.27265/36.171252,-83.273277/36.19245,-83.26623/36.223545,-83.257433/36.227395,-83.258669/36.977084936581484,+-84.11219279033283/@36.2918096,-83.9721285,9z/data=!4m24!4m23!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m1!4e1!1m3!2m2!1d-84.1121928!2d36.9770849!3e0?hl=en }}</ref><ref name="his-bell">{{cite book |url = http://transportation.ky.gov/dmireports/Official_MP_RL_Report.aspx?param=BELL |title = HIS Official Milepoint Route Log Report (Bell County) |publisher = Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date = January 19, 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="his-knox">{{cite book |url = http://transportation.ky.gov/dmireports/Official_MP_RL_Report.aspx?param=KNOX |title = HIS Official Milepoint Route Log Report (Knox County) |publisher = Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date = January 19, 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>|state_col=state}} {{TNint|exit |sspan=32 |county=Cocke |location=Newport |mile=0.0 |type=trans |road={{jct|state=TN|US|25|dir1=south|US|25W|dir2=north|US|70|name3=W Broadway Street/SR 9/SR 32 south/SR 35|to4=to|I|40|city1=Newport|city2=Dandridge|city3=Sevierville}} |notes=Southern terminus of US 25E; US 25E south and US 25W merge to form US 25; southern end of unsigned SR 32 concurrency }} {{jctbridge|exit |river=Douglas Lake/French Broad River |mile= |line=yes |bridge=J. W. Walters Bridge }} {{TNint|exit |county=Jefferson |cspan=3 |location=none |mile= |road=Nina Road – Baneberry |notes=Access road into Baneberry }} {{TNint|exit |location=White Pine |lspan=2 |mile=9.5 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|341|dir1=west|name1=Old Airport Road|city1=Talbott}} |notes=Eastern terminus of SR 341 }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=11.1 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|113|dir1=south|name1=Main Street|city1=Dandridge}} |notes=Southern end of SR 113 concurrency }} {{TNint|exit |county=Hamblen |cspan=10 |location=Morristown |lspan=10 |mile=13.0 |road={{jct|state=TN|I|81|city1=Knoxville|city2=Bristol}} |notes=I-81 exit 8, southern end of ADHS Corridor S and NHS Corridor 12 concurrency }} {{TNint|exit |mile=14.8 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|343|dir1=north|name1=Newport Highway|location1=Downtown}} |notes=Southern terminus of SR 343 }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=15.5 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|113|dir1=north|city1=Whitesburg}} |notes=Northern end of SR 113 concurrency }} {{TNint|exit |mile=17.1 |exit=1 |road={{jct|state=TN|SR|160|name1=Enka Highway}} |notes=Southern end of freeway; interchange }} {{TNint|exit |mile=19 |exit=1A |road=Crockett Square Drive/Walters State CC Drive |notes=Interchange }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=19.5 |exit=2A |road={{jct|state=TN|US|11E|dir1=south|name1=Morris Boulevard/SR 34 west|city1=Morristown}} |notes=Southern end of US 11E/SR 34 concurrency; interchange }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=19.8 |exit=2B |road={{jct|state=TN|US|11E|dir1=north|name1=East A.J. Highway/SR 34 east/SR 66|city1=Greeneville|city2=Morristown}} |notes=Northern end of US 11E/SR 34 concurrency; northern end of freeway; interchange }} {{TNint|exit |type=proposed |mile= |road=Dalton Ford Road |notes=Proposed interchange (unfunded)<ref name="brightsdalton">{{cite book |title = US-25E at Brights Pike or Dalton Ford Road Interchange Feasibility Study Hamblen County |url = https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/documents/government-how-do-i-documents/Studies/StatewidePlanning/studies-Hamblen_%20US25EatBrightsPikeorDaltonFordRoad.pdf |publisher = Tennessee Department of Transportation |access-date = June 26, 2021 |date = 2008 }}</ref> }} {{TNint|exit |type=proposed |mile= |road=Brights Pike |notes=Proposed interchange (unfunded)<ref name="brightsdalton"/> }} {{TNint|exit |mile=22.3 |type=incomplete |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|343|dir1=south|name1=Buffalo Trail|location1=Morristown Central Business District}} |notes=Interchange; northern terminus of SR 343; southbound exit and northbound entrance; missing movements signed on Cherokee Park Road }} {{jctbridge|exit |river=Cherokee Lake/Holston River |mile= |line=yes |bridge=Olen R. Marshall Memorial Bridge }} {{TNint|exit |county=Grainger |cspan=6 |location=Bean Station |lspan=3 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|375|dir1=south|name1=Lakeshore Drive S|city1=Cherokee}} |mile=26.2 |notes=Northern terminus of SR 375; southern end of freeway }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=29.3 |road={{jct|state=TN|US|11W|dir1=north|name1=SR 1 east|city1=Rogersville}} |notes=Southern end of US 11W/SR 1 concurrency; interchange; northern end of freeway }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=31.2 |road={{jct|state=TN|US|11W|dir1=south|name1=SR 1 west|city1=Rutledge|city2=Knoxville}} |notes=Northern end of US 11W/SR 1 concurrency; interchange }} {{TNint|exit |location=Thorn Hill |lspan=3 |mile=38 |type=concur |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|131|dir1=south|name1=Mountain Valley Highway 131|city1=Washburn}} |notes=Southern end of SR 131 concurrency. }} {{TNint|exit |mile=39 |type=concur |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|131|dir1=north|name1=Mountain Valley Highway 131|city1=Thorn Hill|city2=Treadway}} |notes=Northern end of SR 131 concurrency }} {{jctbridge|exit |mile= |bridge= Bridge over Indian Creek }} {{jctbridge|exit |river= Clinch River |mile= |line=yes |bridge= Clinch River Bridge }} {{jctbridge|exit |county_special=Claiborne |cspan=9 |location=none |mile= |bridge= Bridge over Big Sycamore Creek/Norris Lake }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |location=none |mile=45.5 |road={{jct|state=TN|SR|33|dir1=north|city1=Sneedville}} |notes=Southern end of SR 33 concurrency }} {{jctbridge|exit |location=Springdale |mile= |bridge=Katie Johnson & William West Memorial Bridge over Little Sycamore Creek }} {{TNint|exit |type=unbuilt |location=Tazewell |lspan=2 |mile=50.8 |road={{jct|state=TN|SR|33|dir1=south|name1=N Broad Street|city1=New Tazewell|city2=Maynardville}} |notes=Northern end of SR 33 concurrency, proposed interchange along with SR 345;<ref name="runions"/> Currently an at-grade intersection with traffic signals. }} {{TNint|exit |type=unbuilt |mile=51.3 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|345|dir1=north|name1=Cedar Fork Road}} |notes=Southern terminus of SR 345, proposed interchange along with SR 33;<ref name="runions"/> Currently an at-grade intersection with traffic signals. }} {{jctbridge|exit |location=none |mile= |bridge=Douglas W. Tripp Memorial Bridge over the Powell River }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |location=Harrogate |lspan=2 |mile=60.2 |road={{jct|state=TN|Sec|63|dir1=east|name1=Forge Ridge Road|city1=Sneedville}} |notes=Southern end of SR 63 concurrency, Northern end of ADHS Corridor S concurrency }} {{TNint|exit |type=concur |mile=60.4 |road={{jct|state=TN|SR|63|dir1=west|name1=Appalachian Highway|city1=Arthur|city2=Speedwell|city3=Fincastle|city4=LaFollette}} |notes=Northern end of SR 63 concurrency; Southern end of ADHS Corridor F concurrency }} {{TNint|exit |location=Cumberland Gap |mile=61.2 |road={{jct|state=TN|US|58|dir1=east|name1=Wilderness Road/SR 383 east|location1=Jonesville, VA|location2=Bristol, VA}} |notes=Interchange; western terminus of US 58/SR 383 }} {{jcttunnel|exit |river_wide=yes |river=Cumberland Gap |mile=65.9 |mile2=0.000 |line=yes |tunnel=Cumberland Gap Tunnel }} {{Jctint|exit |state=KY |sspan=39 |county=Bell |cspan=13 |location_special=Cumberland Gap NHP |mile=1.343 |road=Cumberland Gap National Park Visitor Center & Craft Shop |notes=Interchange }} {{KYint|exit |location=Middlesboro |lspan=2 |mile=1.719 |type=concur |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|74|dir1=west|extra=airport|location1=Airport}} |notes=Southern end of KY 74 Truck concurrency }} {{KYint|exit |mile=2.781 |type=concur |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|441|dir1=west|KY-Truck|74|dab2=Middlesboro|dir2=west}} |notes=Northern end of KY 74 Truck concurrency }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=6.322 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3486|dir1=south}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=6.402 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|188|dir1=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=Ferndale |mile=8.313 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1534|dir1=north}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=8.900 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3151|dir1=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=11.604 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|190|dir1=west|city1=Chenoa|city2=Frakes|location3=Pine Mountain State Resort Park}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=Pineville |lspan=3 |mile=12.355 |road={{jct|state=KY|US|119|dir1=north|city1=Harlan|location2=Martins Fork Lake}} |notes=Northern end of ADHS Corridor F concurrency }} {{KYint|exit |mile=13.460 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|66|dir1=north|to2=to|KY|221|location1=Red Bird Mission}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=14.200 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2015|dir1=north}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=17.360 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2014|dir1=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=17.576 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|92|dir1=west|city1=Williamsburg|city2=Whitley City}} }} {{KYint|exit |county=Knox |cspan=23 |location=none |mile=19.075 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3085|dir1=south}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=20.309 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3085|dir1=north}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=21.543 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|930|dir1=west}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=21.709 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3085|dir1=south|city1=Flat Lick}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=22.471 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|223|dir1=north|city1=Dewitt}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=24.081 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3439|dir1=west}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=25.581 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1304|dir1=north|to2=to|KY|11|city1=Bimble}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=Barbourville |lspan=6 |mile=26.684 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3153|dir1=west}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=27.418 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2415|dir1=north}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=28.470 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|225|dir1=south|KY|3439|dir2=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |type=concur |mile=29.439 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|11|dir1=south|city1=Barbourville}} |notes=Southern end of KY 11 concurrency }} {{KYint|exit |mile=29.596 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2420|dir1=west|city1=Downtown Barbourville}} }} {{KYint|exit |type=concur |mile=30.205 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|11|dir1=north|city1=Manchester}} |notes=Northern end of KY 11 concurrency }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=30.811 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1487|dir1=south}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=31.206 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2418|dir1=south}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=32.610 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3438|dir1=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=33.124 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|229|dir1=north|city1=London}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=34.437 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1527|dir1=east}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=40.366 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|233|city1=Gray}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=none |mile=42.227 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|830}} }} {{KYint|exit |location=Corbin |lspan=3 |mile=42.872 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3041|dir1=south|to2=to|I|75|dir2=south}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=44.301 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|312|dir1=west}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=44.593 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1629}} }} {{KYint|exit |county=Laurel |cspan=3 |location=North Corbin |lspan=3 |type=trans |mile=45.192 |road={{jct|state=KY|US|25|dir1=north|US|25W|dir2=south|extra=airport|location1=Airport}} |notes=US 25W and US 25E north merge to form US 25; US 25E signage continues }} {{KYint|exit |mile=45.703 |road={{jct|state=KY|KY|3431|to2=to|KY|1223}} }} {{KYint|exit |mile=46.805 |mile2=46.872 |road={{jct|state=KY|I|75|KY|770|dir2=west|location1=Knoxville|city2=Lexington}} |notes=I-75 exit 29; northern end of NHS Corridor 12 concurrency, northern terminus of US 25E }} {{jctbtm|exit|col=8|keys=concur,incomplete,trans}}

==See also== * {{Portal-inline|U.S. roads}} * {{Portal-inline|Kentucky}} * {{Portal-inline|Tennessee}}

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{Cite book |last=Hulbert |first=Archer Butler |title=The great American canals |date=1971 |publisher=AMS Press |isbn=978-0-404-03420-7 |edition=Reprint [der Ausg.] Cleveland, 1902-1905 |series=Historic highways of America |location=New York, NY}} * {{Cite journal |last=Aycock |first=James H. |year=1981 |title=Construction Problems Involving Shale in a Geologically Complex Environment: State Route 32 – Appalachian Corridor "S": Grainger County, Tennessee |url=https://www.highwaygeologysymposium.org/wp-content/uploads/hgs-32-OPT.pdf |journal=Highway Geology Symposium |publisher=Tennessee Department of Transportation |publication-place=Gatlinburg, Tennessee |publication-date=May 6–8, 1981 |volume=32 |pages=36–58}} * {{Cite journal |last=Byerly Don |first=W. |last2=Aycock |first2=James H. |year=1985 |title=Engineering geology in the construction of U. S. Route 25E across Clinch Mountain: Grainger County, Tennessee |journal=Studies in Geology (Knoxville) |volume=10 |pages=6–8}}

==External links== {{commons category|U.S. Route 25E}} {{Attached KML|display=inline,title}} * [https://www.kentuckyroads.com/us_25/ US 25 at KentuckyRoads.com] * [http://www.transportation.ky.gov/ Kentucky Transportation Cabinet] * [https://www.tn.gov/tdot.html Tennessee Department of Transportation]

25E 25E 25E 25E E Category:Transportation in Bell County, Kentucky Category:Transportation in Knox County, Kentucky Category:Transportation in Laurel County, Kentucky Category:Transportation in Cocke County, Tennessee Category:Transportation in Jefferson County, Tennessee Category:Transportation in Hamblen County, Tennessee Category:Transportation in Grainger County, Tennessee Category:Transportation in Claiborne County, Tennessee Category:Expressways in the United States