KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Urban Wilderness Gateway Park is starting to take shape as crews lay the foundation and framework for the $10 million project in South Knoxville.
The city of Knoxville said it has completed a lot of heavy lifting to set up the park infrastructure. A base layer of asphalt has been put down for the new park road and greenways, which the city said should be paved before mid-November.
Crews are working to set up light poles along the greenways and road, and in the next few weeks new accessible sidewalks will be constructed along Sevierville Pike.
The next major step for the project will be to add parking at the James White Parkway terminus at Sevierville Pike, as well as on-street parking next to amenities.
Once the infrastructure is in place, the city said "the real fun can begin." It plans to rebuild the adventure playground at the Baker Creek Preserve, add restrooms and picnic areas, and add new play features and other gathering spaces.
Expected to be a catalyst in modernizing the South Waterfront, the gateway park will connect East and South Knoxville with downtown using greenways and park land. In August, the Baker Creek Bike Park in South Knoxville opened -- making it the first completed feature of the project.
The city broke ground on the first phase of the project a year ago. A study was approved in December to predict future cycling, motorist, and pedestrian needs as the expansion project continues.