City Of Knoxville - Blog: Waterfront Drive Upgrades Moving To 2nd Phase

Press release from the City of Knoxville - Blog:

November 29, 2021

Take a stroll near Suttree Landing Park on the South Waterfront, and you'll notice a lot that's new - sidewalks, light poles and drains, but also site preparation for a new apartment community.

The City's $733,263 first phase of the Waterfront Drive Roadway Improvements Project is basically completed.

Design and Construction Services Inc. crews built new ADA-accessible sidewalks on sections of Waterfront Drive, Langford Avenue, Dixie Street and Empire Street. They also installed new streetlights and drainage, curb and utility upgrades in the large block adjacent to Suttree Landing Park.

At its Nov. 16 meeting, City Council authorized a contract for the second phase of the project - $648,375 for rough grading work. Merit Construction was the most responsive of two firms that submitted a bid for the Phase 2 project.

Flattening the slope between Langford Avenue and Waterfront Drive - in some places, adding 15 to 20 feet of fill - will allow construction of new street extensions, drainage systems, curb, sidewalks and utilities in a third and final phase that will be bid next year.

The construction and installation of the City's public infrastructure is being carefully coordinated with Dominion Group, which will be building South Banks, a $60 million mixed-use development with 230 apartments and retail space.

It's important that the infrastructure be installed first and that it meet the City's performance standards. Getting the grading and fill work done right is a prerequisite for everything that will follow.

This Phase 2 work will allow new sections of Claude and Barber streets to be built, connecting Langford Avenue and Waterfront Drive. Once the South Banks apartment buildings are constructed, the new streets and sidewalks throughout the nine-block area bounded by Suttree Landing Park and the Sevier Avenue corridor will be connected and walkable.

The intent is to make it easier and safer for pedestrians - residents and park visitors alike - to get to and from Suttree Landing and the restaurants and shops on Sevier Avenue.

In the coming few years, the City also will be investing $10 million in a streetscape overhaul of Sevier Avenue itself - relocating some of the unsightly overhead utility lines and adding bike lanes, improved sidewalks, street lighting, on-street parking and a new roundabout at the Sevier Avenue, Island Home Avenue and Foggy Bottom Street intersection.

This press release was produced by the City of Knoxville - Blog. The views expressed here are the author’s own.