Blog: City Blog

Work Begins on Sevier Avenue Streetscapes; Look for Regularly Scheduled Project Updates

A crowd of curious and engaged residents attended a Jan. 9, 2025 drop-in open house to discuss and get updates on the Sevier Avenue Streetscapes Project, held at South Knoxville Elementary School.

The project will include wide new sidewalks, new streetlights and traffic signals, a roundabout, and upgraded utilities (relocated below ground).

A crowd of curious and engaged residents attended a Jan. 9, 2025 drop-in open house to discuss and get updates on the Sevier Avenue Streetscapes Project, held at South Knoxville Elementary School.

Some of the open house attendees had specific questions: Will traffic flow in both directions on Sevier Avenue? (Yes.) Will pedestrian access to businesses be maintained? (Absolutely.) When will Foggy Bottom Street close as excavation and then infill work starts on the eastern side, in preparation for construction of a roundabout? (Possibly by the end of January, but more likely in February.)

The initial work has since gotten underway - and the City Communications Department will be keeping area residents, business owners and other stakeholders looped in with regular project updates.

Visit www.KnoxvilleTN.gov/SevierAvenue for project updates roughly twice a month, or more frequently if needed.

"Our aim is to keep merchants and residents looped in on what to expect as the construction progresses," Deputy Communications Director Eric Vreeland said. "We will be regularly previewing the work that's imminently coming up along Sevier Avenue."

Cold weather last week hampered the start of work by Whaley Construction crews. But look in the coming weeks for traffic signs to go up, excavation to begin, and the clearing of vegetation between the railroad tracks and Island Home Boulevard to get started.

Utility work by Southern Constructors is expected to start on the east end in February, then on the west end this summer, when there are no classes at nearby South Knoxville Elementary School.

Here are a few more photos from the Jan. 9 drop-in open house:

And here is a rendering of the future roundabout on the east side of the Sevier Avenue Streetscapes Project corridor:

Here is a rendering showing what the roundabout on the east side of Sevier Avenue project area will look like.

Here is a rendering showing what the roundabout on the east side of Sevier Avenue project area will look like.

Posted by evreeland On 31 January, 2025 at 11:12 AM