| State Route 67 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TDOT | ||||
| Length: | 63.88 mi (102.80 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | SR 81 southeast of Johnson City |
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| I-26/US 23 Exit 24 (Old 31) at Johnson City SR 359 Milligan Highway at Johnson City SR 359 Milligan Highway at Elizabethton SR 362/SR 91 Gap Creek Road/Rio Vista Hill at Elizabethton US 19E at Elizabethton US 421 near Mountain City |
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| East end: | NC 88 east of Trade at North Carolina State Line |
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Washington, Carter, Johnson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Tennessee State Routes
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State Route 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.
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In 1988, Tennessee State Route 67 was completed a freeway between Johnson City and Elizabethton as part of Quad-Cities Beltway projects.[1]
SR 67 enters in Carter County just past the Milligan Highway Exit at the Johnson City/Elizabethton city limits on a freeway four-lane segment. Traveling from Johnson City, this mostly unlighted freeway segment of 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 the traffic signalled SR 362 Milligan Highway exit (near both the Elizabethton Municipal Golf Course and the Elizabethton Fire Department #3 Substation on the right).
At the SR 362/Milligan Highway exit, SR 67 continues on into Elizabethton as a four-lane down onto a mostly level and commercially developed segment (beginning at the junction SR 362 at Gap Creek Road) that is locally referred to as Elk Avenue. The City of Elizabethton itself mostly lies within two river valleys ringed by high mountains and significant hills.
SR 67/Elk Avenue parallels the Watauga River (to the left and north) before passing by a reconstructed interpretation of Fort Watauga at Fort Sycamore Shoals State Park (the historical site of both the 1775 Transylvania Purchase and also the later staging area of the Overmountain Men defeated British Loyalists in South Carolina during the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain) and the Sycamore Shoals Hospital (on the left) and moving more distantly away from the Watauga River. There are at least three usually busy local intersections with traffic signals found along this stretch of SR 67, including: Hudson Avenue (Wal-Mart on the left), Bemberg Road (Elizabethton High School on the right), and Mill Street (Krystal's on the left) before arriving at the Y-forked intersection with traffic signals where SR-67 leaves the remainder of Elk Avenue through the Elizabethton downtown business district.
SR 67 veers about 45 degrees in direction toward the left at the Elk Avenue Y-fork as commercially developed segment that is locally referred to as Broad Street, with SR 67 passing through usually busy local intersections at North Roan Street (McDonald's on the left; also running into the Old Bristol Highway) and Sycamore Street (Taco John's on the left) before reaching the Broad Street Bridge in Elizabethton.
SR 67/Broad Street first passes over the Doe River in Elizabethton on the circa 1926 concrete arch Broad Street bridge while continuing on as a four lane, and then SR 67 passes through the non-traffic signalled intersection of Main Street before turning south (right) with traffic signals from the next major intersection of Broad Street with U.S. Highway 19-E/SR 67 (and the Food City grocery store) and travelling again on south across the Doe River at the East Side bridges within Elizabethton.
Further on south, the four-laned highway runs closely paralleled with the Doe River (on the left), SR 67 starts gaining some gradual elevation and eventually crossing a section of bridges over the Doe River at the Valley Forge community just out side 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 crossings before arriving at Hampton.
At the small, mountainous community of Hampton, the four-laned SR 67 veers left off U.S. Highway 19-E and begins as a two-lane segment, briefly passing by commercial areas with Hampton (including a U.S. post office 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.
Upon leaving Hampton, SR 67 again continually increases in elevation and roughly runs several miles parallel between both the shoreline of the massive TVA Watauga Reservoir (also known locally as Watauga Lake) and the Cherokee National Forest. The TVA Watauga Dam can be seen in the distance across the reservoir at the Rat Branch Boat Launch at SR67.
SR67 eventually passes over the TVA Watauga Reservoir at the 80-foot (24 m) high Butler Bridge before entering Johnson County.
| County | Location | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington |
SR-81 | Western terminus of TN 67 | ||
| Johnson City | US-321 west / SR-381 north | Southern end of US 321 concurrency; southern terminus of TN 381 | ||
| I-26 / US-19W / US-23 / SR-36 | ||||
| Carter |
SR-359 south | Northern terminus of TN 359 | ||
| US-321 east / SR-91 | Northern end of US 321 concurrency | |||
| SR-362 east | Western terminus of TN 362 | |||
| Elizabethton | US-19E north / US-321 west / SR-37 north | Northern end of US 19E/US 321/TN 37 concurrency | ||
| Hampton | US-19E south / SR-37 south | Southern end of US 19E/TN 37 concurrency | ||
| US-321 east / SR-159 east | Southern end of US 321 concurrency; western terminus of TN 159 | |||
| Johnson |
SR-167 east | Western terminus of TN 167 | ||
| Mountain City | US-421 west / SR-34 west | Northern end of US 421/TN 34 concurrency | ||
| SR-167 | ||||
| Trade | US-421 east / SR-34 east | Southern end of US 421 concurrency/TN 34 | ||
| NC 88 east | Eastern terminus of TN 67 at the North Carolina state line | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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