Jacksboro Pike Gets New Signal Timing the Same Month Woodson's Mall Gets Harbor Freight

On Wednesday afternoon, September 30, Hunter Thomas worked from a bucket truck above the four-lane while traffic hurried past below. A few feet away, his Progression Electric coworker Zach Wise worked on a signal control box, and Hunter Emery ran cable at another. WLAF photographed the crew that afternoon.

"We gotten a lot done today, our first day, and I think we'll be wrapped up with this project in a couple of weeks," Wise told the station.

A couple of weeks from that Wednesday puts the finish in mid-October. That same window holds Harbor Freight's planned soft opening on the Jacksboro end of Woodson's Mall, with a grand opening to follow later in the month. The city is retiming this stretch at the moment it gains a new reason to stop.

The Lower End, Between 3 and 7

City of La Follette Administrator Stan Foust described the problem in plain terms. "From 3 pm until about 7 pm traffic is terrible on the lower end," he told WLAF. The station traced the backups along the four-lane from Jacksboro to Towe String Road.

The project aims at La Follette-bound traffic. Foust put the cost of upgrading three lights at about $400,000. Wise pointed out the intersections on site, and a fourth light is waiting on outside money:

That last row matters for anyone whose drive continues toward South Avenue. The three funded lights cover the mall-to-Lowe's segment. The Gamble Motor signal stays on its current system until the grant is decided.

What "Radar" Means on a Signal Pole

The word has already started rumors, so Foust addressed it head-on:

"We're getting away from the Loop System where a pad on the asphalt controls a traffic light. This upgraded feature is called radar for traffic lights. Now this is all about the traffic flow and does not mean this is a ticket light just because radar is in its name."

The old setup relied on sensor pads cut into the pavement. The new one uses microwave sensors mounted on poles above the road. They spot approaching vehicles and adjust the signal timing to match. "It basically counts traffic, and once it detects traffic is beginning to back up, it will free it up to push traffic on through," Foust said.

Two other details from the same report shape what drivers will experience. All the intersections will be synchronized, so the lights work as a sequence. And the city plans traffic counts after installation. Those counts are how La Follette will judge whether the $400,000 paid off. They'll be taken on a road that's about to get busier at one end.

A Full Mall Adds Another Front Door

The Harbor Freight store sits where the first light on the city's list meets the most active part of Woodson's Mall. When owner Rob Woodson and manager Becky Aiken announced the finalized lease in November 2025, WLAF reported that the store would take the Jacksboro end of the mall, where DHS offices had been.

Simmons Construction of New Tazewell started work on August 3. Superintendent Joel Ferguson lives in Tazewell and has built 30 or more Harbor Freight stores. "We call ourselves a Mall Circus, because we travel from mall to mall building Harbor Freights," he told WLAF in August. That August report also covered the changes drivers will notice first. The store's entrance is split so one side is enter-only and the other is exit-only. A concrete ramp at the back was coming out to make room for deliveries.

The building will have 17,000 square feet of retail space, plus extra room for storage and offices. By late September, Aiken had heard the store would employ around 30 people. She expects it to draw trade customers in particular. "With our construction that we have around here, our manufacturing, business guys out on their own, it's going to be a great resource for them to have Harbor Freight available, close by at a great price," she said.

Harbor Freight isn't filling an empty center. "Our center (Woodson's Mall) is full, and we still get weekly calls for space," Aiken told WLAF on September 28. She called the store "a prelude to what else we can get here in this community" and described what she sees as "controlled growth."

The mall's last major addition came less than a year ago. Raewyn and John Snodderly opened Norris Lake Wine & Spirits on December 8, 2025. The Campbell County Chamber lists it in Suite A19 at Woodson's Mall. Two openings in about ten months, at a center its manager calls full, explain why the lights by the mall entrance top the city's list.

October on the Four-Lane, in Order

No one has set a calendar date for Harbor Freight's opening. The company's own store page for 2221 Jacksboro Pike, Ste. C-19 still says only "Estimated Opening: October 2026." Here's the order of events the reporting lays out:

1. The week before September 28. Harbor Freight signage went up on the Jacksboro side of the mall.
2. Tuesday, September 29. Shelving was scheduled to go up, after a final polish of the concrete floor.
3. Wednesday, September 30. Progression Electric, a Strawberry Plains company, started the signal work.
4. Week of October 5. Merchandise was expected to arrive, based on WLAF's September 28 timeline.
5. Mid-October. The city expects La Follette-bound afternoon traffic to be "flowing much friendlier."
6. October, date to come. A Harbor Freight soft opening, then a grand opening later in the month. Aiken noted that the chain traditionally opens on a Tuesday.

Items five and six could land in the same week. If they do, the first after-installation traffic counts will include drivers turning in to see the new store.

One More Stop on the Same Stretch, Still Under Construction

Next door at 2229 Jacksboro Pike, the ORNL Federal Credit Union branch is partway through a remodel. On September 22, the Campbell County Chamber reported that work was continuing. It pointed members to a temporary location in the branch's parking lot and named Cyndi Russell as branch manager. The credit union's own undated branch page says the lobby is open and the drive-through and ATM are closed for construction. Neither source gives a completion date. Check the branch page before you go, since it's the more current-looking of the two.

So for at least part of October, three changes overlap on this short stretch:

• Signals. Work is underway at the Woodson's Mall, Walgreens and Lowe's lights, with a finish targeted for mid-October.
• Harbor Freight. A split enter-only and exit-only entrance at the Jacksboro end of the mall, with an opening expected this month.
• ORNL FCU. No drive-through or ATM at 2229 Jacksboro Pike while the remodel continues.

The Gamble Motor light at South Avenue stays as it is until the city hears back on its TDOT grant application. That intersection marks where the upgraded section ends.

Our office is in La Follette, and the Jacksboro Pike four-lane is part of our daily drive too. Whether you're weighing a listing, a lot or a move that depends on this corridor, our agents at Alco Builders and Realty follow changes like these closely and can talk through what they mean for your plans. Schedule a Consultation.