Sevier Avenue traffic pattern shifts for 18-month streetscape construction: What to know
Though construction on the $19.2 million Sevier Avenue streetscape began in January, a new temporary traffic pattern near the intersection of Sevier and Island Home avenues is giving South Knoxville its first real look at how the street is changing.
The streetscape was originally slated for 2019, but the project was delayed by COVID-19 and the right-of-way acquisition process. The project will move overhead utility wires underground while adding bike lanes and ADA-compliant sidewalks to the street, along with a roundabout at the Sevier Avenue intersection of Island Home Avenue and Foggy Bottom Street.
Sevier Avenue, just across the Tennessee River from downtown, is the restaurant and retail heartbeat of South Knoxville. The street includes a diverse stretch of restaurants, bars and shops, including Alliance Brewing Company, Chopper Barbershop, Honeybee Coffee Co., Mood Ring Vintage and Redbud Kitchen.
Closing soon: South Knoxville losing one of its most popular restaurants amid Sevier Avenue construction
While businesses rely on walk-in traffic, some owners have been concerned about how construction will affect the customer experience and sales when the area already has limited parking.
The city plans to pave a parking lot beneath James White Parkway on nearby Island Home Avenue, in part, to encourage people to keep visiting Sevier Avenue during construction. The most important thing to know is the street and businesses will remain open throughout construction, Knoxville City Councilman Tommy Smith previously told Knox News.
Construction signs are in place along the entire length of the Sevier Avenue project area, from Landing House on the east end to Honeybee Coffee Co. on the west end. But most of the visible work has only started on the east side at the intersection of Sevier Avenue and Island Home Avenue, where the streets will merge into a roundabout with Foggy Bottom Street.
The new traffic pattern is just east of the intersection, directing westbound motorists between a median into what used to be oncoming traffic and over the train tracks.
As construction ramps up as we head into the summer, here are five things to know about the Sevier Avenue streetscape project.
Parking has been an issue near Sevier Avenue since at least January 2021, when vehicles blocking driveways and alleyways led the city to implement permit-only parking on nearby public streets for residents of the growing neighborhood.
Public parking is available along the water at nearby Suttree Landing Park, as well as the gravel lot beneath James White Parkway on Island Home Avenue. The latter area, primed for $150,000 of city upgrades, has been a public lot since 2019 and is just a few steps from Printshop Beer Co. and the new Mighty Mud location.
The $150,000, which the Knoxville City Council approved March 4, will be used to pave 50 spots that already exist and will add signs and lighting. Work has not started.
In addition to the 50 parking spaces beneath James White Parkway, these are all the public parking spaces near Sevier Avenue, as identified by the city:
10 spaces on Sevier Avenue near Blount Avenue
25 spaces at South Knoxville Elementary on nights and weekends
40 street parking spaces along Suttree Landing Park and cross streets
85 street parking spaces on Sevier Avenue
320 spaces at the Regal parking garage on weekdays after 6 p.m. and all day on weekends
The 85 spaces along Sevier Avenue will be limited during streetscape construction.
The streetscape won't happen all at once. The heaviest lift is the roundabout on the east end, and work there is just now starting.
The next step in the streetscape will be work near South Knoxville Elementary School. The goal is for most of the work near the school to be completed this summer while school is out.
New traffic patterns will be introduced during the 18-month construction period, including one-lane traffic, but no parts of the street will ever be fully closed. Flaggers will direct traffic when one lane is closed.
"If you don't hear me say anything, hear me say this: All the businesses on Sevier Avenue are open, will remain open," Smith told Knox News on Jan. 9. "Come shop. I'll be there. Come spend money, and the city will be right behind those businesses to support them."
The improvements on Sevier Avenue − the "spine" between bridges crossing the Tennessee River, as Smith puts it − are all part of a larger plan to reconnect communities divided by the water.
Also in the 2006 South Waterfront Plan, a pedestrian bridge that would connect South Knoxville to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville secured federal funding earlier this year. Knox News reported the project might be at risk, however, as President Donald Trump's administration takes back grants.
Plans also are in motion to replace a railway with a paved greenway running behind Sevier Avenue businesses and, separately, to add walking and biking paths along James White Parkway as part of a $42.6 million federal grant to reconnect Knoxville communities.
A Monolith Construction sign and fence recently popped up around the plot at 1108 Sevier Ave. The construction company is about to start work on a four-story condo building, site project manager Brian Lloyd told Knox News.
The project will break ground at the corner of Dixie Street and Sevier Avenue, next to the Sevier Avenue Burger Company building, also home to Alliance Brewing Company.
The first level of the project, dubbed Suttree Condominiums, will be built as restaurant or retail space. No leases have been signed.
The upper levels will be the condos: six one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units. The two-bedroom units will cover two stories, Lloyd said, and Monolith is set to break ground "any day."
The target for completion is spring 2026.
The Gay Street Bridge is just west of Sevier Avenue and historically has served as a connector between downtown and South Knoxville.
However, the bridge has been closed because of safety concerns for almost a year. Construction is scheduled for this summer to make the bridge safe for pedestrians and cyclists. Other than that, only emergency vehicles and buses will be allowed on the bridge once it reopens.
To reopen the bridge, the city must spend $2 million on repairs. Pair that with the $19.2 million for the Sevier Avenue streetscape − and add in the $60 million pedestrian bridge between the South Waterfront and UT − and it's clear the city is prioritizing South Knoxville and the city's urban core.
Joanna Hayes is the restaurant and retail reporter. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville traffic pattern shifts for Sevier Avenue street construction
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