KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (4/5): The state plans on budgeting $20 million for a pedestrian bridge connecting South Knoxville to the University of Tennessee.
The $20 million was presented as part of the Finance, Ways and Mean Committee's 2024 fiscal year budget amendment.
“We are excited about the inclusion of initial pedestrian bridge funding in Governor Lee's recent amendment,” said Mayor Indya Kincannon. “This important City infrastructure project was identified by the community as part of the South Waterfront Vision Plan adopted in 2006 and will provide a safe and accessible bridge across the Tennessee River for walking and biking," Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said regarding the $20 million. “A project of this magnitude is beyond the resources of the City and we will continue to work with the State/TDOT and Federal government on additional funding."
The amendments now await a vote of approval.
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The city of Knoxville touts the economic, environmental and public safety benefits of a landmark $70 million pedestrian bridge over Fort Loudoun Lake linking South Knoxville and the University of Tennessee campus in a federal grant application.
The document is being submitted in hopes of securing $25 million from the federal government's Department of Transportation. The city last month also signed a memo of understanding with UT about the future bridge.
The bridge would stretch across the water from Clancy Avenue on the south side to the pedestrian concourse on the north located between Thompson-Boling Arena and Pratt Pavilion, according to the city.
No part of the bridge would be in the water itself.
The car-free span will spur development in areas that have largely been industrial, the city argues. It'll also encourage bike usage and reduce vehicle traffic on nearby Chapman Highway in South Knoxville -- by an estimated 4,033 cars a day.
"The pedestrian bridge will equitably connect underserved communities north and south of the river to ethnic markets, larger grocery stores, churches, parks, greenways, and additional transit and active transportation choices that also connect to other areas of the city," the city states in its grant pitch.
The city-owned bridge will improve access to greenway and recreation areas north and south of the lake.
Overall, the bridge will raise the area's quality of life. It'll also install an iconic structure on the city landscape, the application states.
Compass reported on the application details last week.
Developers already sense opportunity, with one from Alabama finalizing the $8 million purchase of the old Ready Mix USA site along the south waterfront for multi-family housing.
UT also is purchasing about 7 acres on the south side near the proposed bridge for $9 million for future student housing.
"The innovative use of a long arch will be a first for the Knoxville region, and this design essentially eliminates impacts on the river environment -- one of the most important natural resources in our region," the application pitch states. "In general, the construction would utilize a series of towers and tiebacks that cantilever out from each riverbank. Sections of the arch would be erected simultaneously from both ends until a final arch piece is placed over the center of the span."
A proposed project timeline states construction could start in 2026 and finish in 2030. The $25 million would come through the massive bipartisan infrastructure funding bill passed by Congress in 2021.
No right-of-way needs to be acquired on the north side of the bridge site. But 11 parcels on the south side would have to be acquired for right-of-way, documents state.
They include two owned by TVA, two that are commercial and three that are vacant residential parcels.
Among other sourcing funds, if the city gets the grant then a matching $6.25 million would be provided by a partnership that includes the city and UT.
"The remainder of the project cost will be funded with state or local funds," according to a city information site.
While $70 million is the current estimated price, it's not unusual for costs to rise on such a large structure.
UT System President Randy Boyd, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman, state Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley, the East Tennessee Purchasing Association's Diversity Business Alliance, the Knoxville-based Aslan Foundation, Legacy Parks, the Regional Transportation Association and Knoxville Area Transit all wrote letters to federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg supporting the city's grant request.
"Knoxville is experiencing an increasing demand for compact, walkable, mixed-use housing developments (transportation efficient land use) which requires strategic active transportation," Boyd and Plowman's Feb. 22 letter states.
"The University is making significant investments in land across the river from campus to provide affordable housing for students. The bridge will provide important connectivity, while facilitating new economic growth."
