Starting Thursday, if you’re planning to head north through Knoxville on Interstate 40, keep this flashing traffic message in mind: Road construction ahead. Expect delays.

Yes, about 14 months in duration.

The I-40 closure between exit 388 and exit 389 in downtown Knoxville is one of the final phases in the SmartFIX40 project, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. For an estimated 14 months, construction teams will widen the road to six through lanes and four auxiliary lanes. Several bridges and noise walls also will be built, according to TDOT.

But Chattanooga area tourist attractions such as the Tennessee Aquarium shouldn’t be hampered by the construction, tourism officials said, nor should East Tennessee draws such as Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t have reactions to the construction.

People traveling south on I-40 through Knoxville may feel some hassle, said Thom Benson, spokesman for the Tennessee Aquarium, and “if you increase hassles, you will have a negative impact on attendance.”

U.S. Xpress, a Chattanooga-based trucking company, is viewing the Knoxville road work like any construction project and does not expect detours to hurt business, said Greg Thompson, a spokesman for U.S. Xpress.

“It may slow transit, but it shouldn’t have an impact,” Mr. Thompson said. “We are aware of major road construction, and we try to go around it.”

Dolly Parton, who is appearing on television and radio advertisements for TDOT, points out that the construction does not have to derail vacations to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg or the Smoky Mountains.

Though the inconvenience of the construction could change family travel plans, city officials in Pigeon Forge have a lot of faith in the detour route of I-640, a major interstate that goes around Knoxville, said Leon Downey, director of tourism in Pigeon Forge.

“As long as people can find their way around, we will be fine,” said Mr. Downey.

When a portion I-40 between Knoxville and Asheville, N.C., was closed because of rock slides nearly 10 years ago, travelers took two-lane roads as detours and that significantly hurt tourism in Pigeon Forge, he said.

This time, the detour route is a major highway, I-640, so delays and traffic will not be as much of a deterrent, Mr. Downey said.

“As long as they can get here and not be inconvenienced, this is going to be pretty seamless for people,” he said.

The Knoxville road closing will allow for around-the-clock construction and will save an estimated two years of road work, TDOT officials said.