For three days, starting Tuesday, June 27, the southbound lane on the Gay Street Bridge will be closed as part of the ongoing construction improvements to Blount Avenue at the south end of the bridge. Motorists and bicyclists traveling from downtown to South Knoxville will be detoured off Gay Street to Cumberland Avenue, Henley Street and the Henley Bridge.

Knoxville Area Transit’s outbound Route 40 bus will detour from Hall of Fame Drive to Church Avenue to Henley Street and cross the Tennessee River via the Henley Bridge to pick up Blount Avenue and reach destinations in South Knoxville. The inbound bus heading to downtown from South Knoxville will continue to use the Gay Street Bridge; it will not be detoured.

A gas line is being relocated by a contractor, Brown Construction, to accommodate other utility upgrades, and the connection point for the gas line is within the intersection of Blount Avenue and Gay Street.

In addition to the existing sidewalk closure on the Gay Street Bridge and the traffic controls in place on East Blount Avenue, the southbound lane of the Gay Street Bridge will be closed from Tuesday, June 27, through Thursday, June 29.

As part of the Blount Avenue Streetscape Improvements Project, contractor Charles Blalock and Sons Inc. has been working on East Blount Avenue between Chapman Highway/Henley Street and Gay Street since April, installing storm sewer, water lines and utility connections for a new South Waterfront apartment complex.

Two travel lanes are open on East Blount Avenue with a reduced speed limit through the construction zone. Bicyclists share travel lanes with vehicular traffic, and the sidewalk on the north side of East Blount Avenue is closed.

Meanwhile, sidewalk, curb and gutter and storm drain work is scheduled to continue on West Blount Avenue between Chapman Highway and the Norfolk Southern railroad overpass near St. Paul Street through the end of July. Work by Charles Blalock and Sons crews began on that section of West Blount Avenue in February.

The upgrades along Blount Avenue will improve pedestrian connections and add bicycle lanes and bus stops. The work on the sections of Blount Avenue is being done to support two South Waterfront residential developments: Riverwalk at the Bridges (located on the main footprint of the former Baptist Hospital site) and Riverfront Station student housing, located west of the Henley Bridge.