KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The $10.1 million project to replace two Jackson Avenue ramps is expected to begin sometime within the next month or so, City of Knoxville spokesperson Eric Vreeland told 10News.
The ramps, which the city considers structurally deficient, connect Jackson Avenue to Gay Street in the Old City.
A public meeting and Q&A will be held on Aug. 5 to provide an update on the project, a news release from the city said.
The meeting will be directed by Downtown Coordinator Rick Emmett at Jackson Terminal, which is located at 231 W. Jackson Ave. It will start at 5:30 p.m.
City engineering staff, representatives of Bell & Associates and Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers will also be present.
The city said it expects the project to take about a year to complete.
During the construction, Jackson Avenue will be inaccessible between Broadway and Central Street, but area businesses will be accessible.
If you plan on parking in the City's parking lot on West Jackson Avenue, you can access it by turning onto West Jackson Avenue from Broadway.
Gay Street will not be affected by the construction.
Pedestrians can still use Jackson Avenue through the construction zone.
"A brightly-colored metal staircase at the southern end of the Gay Street Viaduct will provide pedestrian access between Gay Street and Jackson," the release said.
The ramps, which are made out of red brick, are currently 100 years old. Those cobblestones will be reused in the new construction to mimic the current look of the ramps, the release explained.
