Market Street Main Thoroughfare Before Bypass

Long before the Hwy 27 Bypass came to Dayton, travelers had to make their way through Dayton’s downtown business district on the old U.S. 27, known as Market Street. Not only was Market Street a narrow street, but the movement of traffic was hindered by parked vehicles. Both sides of the street were used for parking and the remaining space, although it carried two lanes of traffic, made for some frequent close squeezes, especially when large freight trucks were involved. In early 1954, engineers of the Tennessee Highway Department were in town studying the surveys for a bypass route which would take U.S. 27 traffic around the Market Street bottleneck.

The proposed new bypass route left the existing highway south of Dayton, crossing the Abel farm and moved through the suburbs of the city toward Bryan Hill, then veering back toward the previous route and rejoining the highway near the north gates of the city.

In 1960, a joint effort between local and state officials eventually brought us the new design which is what we know today as the Highway 27 Bypass.