KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville, despite its hopes, isn't getting a federal grant that would go to help build a pedestrian bridge linking the University of Tennessee campus with the South Knoxville waterfront.
Mayor Indya Kincannon made the announcement Wednesday on social media after getting notice from the government.
"While we are disappointed we did not receive the federal RAISE grant, we will forge ahead looking for other funding opportunities," Kincannon said in the prepared release.
The city had applied for $25 million in funding through the federal Department of Transportation. This is the second time Knoxville has tried to get federal help for the span, which would go from Clancy Avenue over Fort Loudoun Lake to a pedestrian concourse between Pratt Pavilion and Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on the UT side.
A study from the city of Knoxville highlights current and future developments coming to the area. There are three treasures known to the area of South Knoxville, including the waterfront, a pedestrian bridge and a bridged greenway in the works.
"South Knoxville is unique in that it has both access to most of the tree canopy in all of the city, but also the Tennessee River," said Tommy Smith, a city council member. "A lot of the activity or investments you've seen over the past decade or two has been upriver and Mid River."
The south waterfront vision breaks down the river area into three parts, Down River, Mid River and Upper River. Down River expands from Henley Street to Goose Creek. The study shows that despite the new private investments, the area remains isolated and in need of connections.
"The city has gotten involved with the neighborhood downriver to make sure that the next chapter and the next decade for that has the elements that people that already live there want," Smith said.
The report showed that the bridge could be the answer to those problems, but the production comes with a need for funding.
For UT, the bridge would aid future expansion plans and create more convenient access for housing. And South Knoxville along the waterfront is just another example of a part of the city that's picking up in development.
Knoxville already has in hand $20 million from the state of Tennessee toward construction. It's trimmed and refined the project in recent years to come up with a current projected cost of about $60 million. The more time passes, however, the higher construction costs can go.
"With the $20 million from the state and key partners committed to this project, I am confident that the Pedestrian Bridge project will come to fruition. I look forward to continued collaboration with the people of Knoxville, the State, and the University of Tennessee as we work together to carry out the vision from the South Knoxville community," Kincannon said in Wednesday's release.
Proponents tout the greater accessibility the bridge would give to both sides of the shore. Opponents object to the bridge helping promote greater density and invasion of bigger developments on the south side.
They also question how much UT will contribute to such a project.