Blog: State Street Garage Blog

Construction Moving Soon to West Side of Garage

Expansion work on the State Street Garage will soon be moving to the west side of the garage, with a crane set up on State Street.

The good news is that the expansion of State Street Garage remains on schedule, with two new decks and about 570 new parking spaces expected to be open by early summer.

The bad news, however, is that the next phase of the $11 million project will be much more noticeable to visitors accustomed to conveniently parking in the garage before a movie or concert on Gay Street.

Crews are completing slab infills and installing precast concrete on the east side of the garage, using a large crane that's set up in the middle of Central Street. By the end of the month, new roofing will be set in place on parts of that eastern side of the garage.

In mid-January, current work on the east side of the garage will wrap up and the crane will be redeployed on State Street, as work shifts to the west side of the garage.

Anticipate three major changes when the crane relocates to State Street:

-- Central Street will reopen, but State Street - starting around Jan. 18 or the week of Jan. 21 - will be closed for several months to pedestrians and vehicles.

-- Throughout February, the pedestrian bridge over State Street that connects State Street Garage with Gay Street will be closed. State Street and the east sidewalk will be closed off due to work zone hazards, so garage parkers wishing to get to Gay Street will need to exit the garage at street level and cross State Street at either Clinch or Union avenues.

-- At times, the main exit out of the garage onto State Street may be closed. Vehicles will be able to exit through the north gate onto Union Avenue.

Precise dates for the closures and weekly traffic-flow plans will be publicized as the next phase of work draws closer.

But it's a good idea to become familiar now with the parkopedia.com app and plan alternative parking options. In many situations, motorists might find they can get parked and to their destination more quickly if they avoid State Street Garage altogether while the construction work hits its peak.

"We knew it would become more difficult once we hit the midpoint on this project and the work shifted to the State Street side of the garage," Downtown Coordinator Rick Emmett said.

"We're appreciative that everyone has been so patient and understands that this is short-term pain for real long-term gain just six months from now. It'll be great for the merchants, residents and patrons of the Tennessee Theatre and Regal Riviera movie theater once we have these 570 new parking spaces in the heart of downtown come next June."

Posted by evreeland On 04 January, 2019 at 12:52 PM