Beginning next week, City Public Service Department crews will begin repairing the broken, sagging asphalt and damaged fencing on a 200-foot-long stretch of James White Greenway.

To accommodate the repairs, the greenway will be closed starting Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Subject to possible weather delays, the upgrades are expected to be completed by early spring. 

James White Greenway will be closed from Volunteer Landing to Riverside Drive, near Gov. Ned McWherter Park. The temporary detour for bicyclist commuters will utilize East Hill Avenue, George Dempster Drive (if headed eastward), Historic Preservation Drive (if headed westward) and Riverside Drive. One option for pedestrians might be to use the Morningside Greenway.

“The City apologizes for the inconvenience of the closure, but these repairs are necessary now,” Parks and Greenways Coordinator Alison Bullock said. “This involves more than just superficially repaving the surface. Gravity and erosion over the years have had their way, so Public Service crews will be removing existing asphalt patches, rebuilding the subgrade and reinforcing the steep riverbank.”

The work is being done during the winter months, Bullock said, because that’s when greenways are used the least by pedestrians and bicyclists, as opposed to the warmer seasons.