Gay street bridge knoxville tn

How much was the estimate to return it to driving capability? A hip shot is not enough. According to the Tennessee's Survey Report for Historic Highway Bridges, the building cost for the Gay Street Bridge reached $, You can find more interesting facts about the bridge in Chapter 6, pages of the survey report.

Think about that. Your email address will not be published. Photo from City of Knoxville website. So what? These questions need public airing and informed decision-making, with expert facts and advice, plus public input. Load strength and public safety are, of course, clearly important concerns.

Granted, the bridge is old. Your service to the community continues. The city made its current use downgrade decision before — that is, without — obtaining a professional evaluation by a national-level bridge engineering team. Thank you for this timely article Nick.

Where are we going? However, that mixed engineering and public policy question is ultimately answered; a vigorous public airing, debate, and evaluation are needed. Agree with Nick. Editor’s note: Nick would like to acknowledge the generous assistance of two Knoxville engineers, David Bogaty and Marvin House, who unselfishly volunteered their time and provided valuable information for these Gay Street bridge articles.

Nick Della Volpe is a lawyer, a gardener, and a former member of the Knoxville City Council. Nicholas Della Volpe is gardener, woodworker, and a retired attorney, who handled environmental regulation and commercial litigation at TVA beginning in and later at the firms of Baker Worthington and Wagner Myers and Sanger.

When local engineering firm Gresham Smith discovered the structural issue during a periodic inspection required by TDOTthe city hired Blalock Construction to repair bent or twisted members and add some reinforcing cross supports.

But not routine auto traffic. Rationally, steel can be welded, bolted, braced and reinforced.

City of Knoxville Gay

I agree with the other commentors, what data informed the decision to permanently downgrade the Gay St bridge? The city has stated that the bridge will be sufficiently repaired to handle pedestrian traffic. TDOT actually did that to the Gay Street bridge some 12 or 15 years ago to address maintenance issues related to earlier flaws.

After months of uncertainty following the sudden shutdown of downtown Knoxville's historic Gay Street Bridge last summer, drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians finally have an answer: The bridge. You articulated the thought in my mind, where is the heavy engineering analysis?

Surely that figure was contemplated before deciding its cuurent fate. Nick is a member of the Town Hall East community group. Thus far, that information has not been explored or revealed to the bridge-using taxpaying public.

That work is expected to be completed in December, and the bridge will be reopened to pedestrian traffic only. Built in and opening on July 4th, the 1,foot-long arched cantilever steel bridge is the oldest bridge spanning the Tennessee River in Knoxville.