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The four-lane corridor between Maryville and Lenoir City is one step closer to starting according to B.J. Doughty with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).

The project, involving U.S. Highway 321 from U.S. Highway 11 to west of Tellico/Fort Loudon Canal in Loudon County is approximately 1.25 miles long and will include two travel lanes in each direction with shoulders and a median, Doughty said.

Bids will open on the project in June.

"Once we received those bids, TDOT has 30 days to analyze the bid and award the contract to the low bidder," Doughty said.

Then, there will be two to three weeks to finalize the contracts, followed by a pre-construction conference.

"So if all goes well with the bids, actual work would begin by mid to late July," Doughty said.