US 129 enters Tennessee and Blount County through Deals Gap, where it twists and turns along a mountain pass running along the Little Tennessee River. This section is known as the Tail of the Dragon, popular to driving enthusiasts. It then starts running along the banks of the river, where it has an intersection with the Foothills Parkway before passing by Chilhowee Dam and going through Tallassee. US 129 then briefly enters Monroe County and has an intersection with SR 72. It then re enters Blount County and enters farmland, where it has an intersection with SR 336 in Lanier. US 129 continues northeast through farmland to Clover Hill, where it becomes concurrent with US 411/SR 33. Prior to this point, US 129 is a narrow 2-lane highway known as Calderwood Highway. The then continue north to enter the city ofMaryville as a 4-lane undivided highway, where it passes through a business district, where they have an intersection with SR 335, and suburban areas before coming to an interchange, where US 129 separates from US 411/SR 33 and bypasses downtown on the west side. US 129 becomes an expressway known as US 129 Bypass as it passes by Foothills Mall and has intersections with US 321/SR 73, Foothills Mall Drive, and Foch Street before crossing into the neighboring town of Alcoa. US 129 then has an intersection with Louisville Road, which provides access to the neighboring town of Louisville, before crossing some railroad tracks at-grade before coming to an interchange with SR 35. US 129 becomes known as Airport Highway and has an interchange with SR 335 and 2 interchanges for McGhee Tyson Airport. It then becomes known as Alcoa Highway, a name that it keeps all the way to its northern end. It becomes an at 4-lane divided highway and passes through a major business district before having an intersection with Airbase Road and coming to an interchange with Pellissippi Parkway. The stretch between the airport and I-140 is often considered dangerous and even deadly due to the amount of traffic and crashes on the highway. US 129 continues through suburban areas before having an intersection with SR 333 before leaving Alcoa. It then crosses a bridge over the Little River to enter Knox County.
Knox County
US 129 immediately enters the city limits of Knoxville and has an interchange with SR 168. It then passes through a business district before going through wooded areas, where it becomes a freeway and has an interchange with Cherokee Trail, where it widens to 6-lanes, and an interchange for Cherokee Farm. US 129 then crosses the Tennessee River via the J. E. Buck Karnes Bridge and runs along the western edge of The University of Tennessee campus and downtown, while having interchanges with US 11/US 70/SR 1/SR 158 and Kingston Pike. US 129 then continues north through industrial areas before coming to an end at an interchange with I-40.
Counties traversed (east to west) in Tennessee
State Route 115 traverses the counties shown in the table below.
State Route 115 is the hidden state route that overlaps the entire route of US 129 in the state of Tennessee. The highway is 52.8 miles long and is located entirely in East Tennessee. It begins in Blount County and ends in Knox County. It is completely unsigned, with the exception of mileposts, with the highway being solely signed as US 129.
