The University of Tennessee (UT) is looking to acquire 4.1 miles of roads in Knoxville and the city seems willing to give them up, reported the Knoxville News Sentinel.

The roads run through the middle of the school's campus and owning them would allow the university to build, landscape and close the roads without first gaining permission, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. For the city, it would mean no more money spent on maintaining the dozen roads.

The proposal includes major roads like Volunteer Boulevard, Andy Holt Avenue and Lake Loudoun Boulevard and it will go before the university Board of Trustees during next month's meeting, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

Next, the proposal will have to gain the approval of the State Building Commission and then from the Metropolitan Planning Commission.

"From our perspective, for something like this, it's entirely within the campus and serves only campus buildings, and the average city resident seldom if ever uses it," Jim Hagerman, director of the city's Engineering Department, told the Sentinel. "It's an advantage to the city not to have to maintain those streets. Happy to have them maintain them and change them as they like."

It costs the city about $5 million per year to maintain the streets. The rate is about $125,000 per mile and, since these roads have a lot of traffic, they have to be resurfaced every 10 to 20 years, Hagerman said.

Jeff Maples, senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration told the Sentinel the school would allocate $147,000 annually to cover maintenance costs.

However, Hagerman said UT would likely face some opposition for its plan to close down a one-block stretch that connects to a neighborhood grid while the school builds a new classroom building nearby.

"I suspect the neighborhood will not be eager to let that happen," Hagerman told the Sentinel. "But the university may be able to make a good enough case for it and still get it through."