Johnson City’s Knob Creek overpass project nears planned 2026 advertising
Johnson City’s Knob Creek Road/CSX Railroad Overpass project remains in design and right-of-way acquisition as of August 2, 2026. City records project construction advertising in December 2026, while the Tennessee Department of Transportation lists construction for fiscal year 2027. Neither schedule is final.
The project would replace the existing one-way CSX railroad underpass on Knob Creek Road with a new overpass. TDOT’s planned limits run from Mizpah Hills Drive to Marketplace Boulevard and include widening the roadway to five lanes — two travel lanes in each direction and one continuous center turn lane — along with a partial roadway realignment.
What Johnson City approved
On Aug. 7, 2025, the Johnson City City Commission approved a $200,000 amendment to the city’s contract with A. Morton Thomas and Associates. The additional engineering work was needed to address review comments from TDOT and CSX’s consulting engineer as the project moved through design review.
The amendment raised A. Morton Thomas’s contract from $200,000 to $400,000. The city agenda summary said the amendment brought the total value of the project’s consulting contracts to $1,575,900.
The $200,000 figure is a design-contract amendment, not the project’s total construction cost. The amendment covers additional design and engineering services during the remaining design phase.
TDOT is managing project delivery
The city’s agenda summary says TDOT took over management of project delivery on Feb. 21, 2024. Work under the consulting contracts is directed by TDOT, while payment is handled through Johnson City’s Public Works Department.
The city record says the amended work is expected to be reimbursed at 100% until the initial preliminary engineering budget is exhausted. After that, the record says the services would be reimbursed at 80%, with the city seeking an additional 10% reimbursement from Washington County.
Based on that structure, the city identified a maximum direct impact of $40,000 for the amendment. That is the city’s stated maximum exposure for this amendment under the described reimbursement conditions; it does not mean all consulting expenses are fully reimbursed.
What the planned project would change
TDOT’s project description calls for a new railroad overpass and a five-lane Knob Creek Road. Part of the roadway would shift to a new alignment to accommodate the overpass.
TDOT currently lists right-of-way acquisition as underway. The state project page does not list the work as under construction and gives an estimated construction start in fiscal year 2027.
What happens next
The city’s 2025 agenda material identified December 2026 as the projected month for advertising the construction contract, with construction expected to follow in early 2027. TDOT’s current project page uses the broader fiscal-year 2027 construction target.
The two descriptions are compatible but not identical: the city record provides a projected advertising month and an early-2027 expectation, while TDOT identifies the construction year in its 10-year project plan. Both remain subject to change.
The Knob Creek overpass amendment was also listed on the City Commission’s April 9, 2026 final agenda. That later agenda entry confirms the item remained in the city’s project record trail, but it does not by itself establish a new approval.
For residents and commuters, the immediate takeaway is that the corridor is still several steps away from road work. The next major milestones to watch are a future construction advertisement, continuing right-of-way updates and a later notice confirming any construction award and start date.
Sources
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