State Street Garage Update- April 19, 2013

The overpass is now in place and the next bit of work will be to install the railings. Hopefully sometime in the next few weeks this new access can be opened on nights and weekends. The roof and other enhancements will continue to be under construction.
The temporary stairway has reopened and the elevator is generally back in operation. Foundation work in the area is still ongoing so periodic closures of the elevator area are still likely.
Thanks to PBA for providing the pictures below:

S. Central Street remains closed during work hours while the last pieces of precast concrete are placed. This work should be completed this week or early next week. Storm drains will be installed along S. Central Street upon completion of this work which will necessitate a continued lane closure most of next week. Additionally, breaking down the crane for removal will also likely take a couple of days.

Thanks for your interest in the State Street Garage Expansion Project and in Downtown Knoxville.

State Street Garage Update- April 11, 2013

Progress on the State Street Garage expansion is continuing. Due to a variety of factors, S. Central Street will likely remain closed most of next week to finish construction and then to disassemble the crane. The eastern portion of Union Avenue will also be closed much of the time while this last bit of work is accomplished. Traffic into the parking garage from S. Central Street will be directed to Commerce Street and then through the existing surface parking lot on State Street.
Some goods news here is that State Street will not have to be closed after all. Thanks to the kindness of our neighbors, H.T. Hackney, the smaller crane needed to lift the precast concrete forming the overpass will operate from their parking lot beginning next week. State Street lane closures may still be possible throughout the day particularly while the crane is swinging the precast into place. The elevator at State Street level will not be able to be used most of next week at any time, even nights. Foundation work in front of the elevator will make the elevator inaccessible. The temporary stairway will also not be in use during working hours. It will be open nights, however. During work hours next week, access to S. Gay Street from the surface lot and from the State Street Garage will only be available via the sidewalks on Union Avenue and Clinch Avenue.
By the week of April 22, 2013, all streets surrounding the garage and the garage itself will generally be reopened. Some work will remain on the new deck of course and also on the overpass. The plan is to try to get the overpass and railing in place such that the overpass can be used on nights and weekends by the end of the month while work on the glass roof is ongoing during the day.
We hope to have total completion of the project by the 4th of July.

As a reminder to everyone of the look we are working towards, I thought I would once again provide the renderings provided by our Architects , McCarty Holsaple McCarty, some time ago. Some of the design has changed slightly but I believe this is still a very good approximation.

Here are a few pictures I took earlier this week of the work along S. Central Street:



The picture below includes the old State Street Garage sign which we plan to refurbish.



The new trash enclosure will be moved to the location below:

Please plan to attend the Dogwood Arts Festival Art Fair downtown on Market Square this weekend. The weather should be fantastic and Market Square really looks nice. For the first time in may years all four corners of the Square have open businesses with the opening of Tupelo Honey and now the Orange Leaf.



Thanks for your interest in Downtown Knoxville and in the State Street Garage Expansion project

State Street Garage Update- April 3, 2013

The State Street garage expansion is proceeding as has been planned. Slight delays have been experienced due to some issues with the large crane and also involving some issues with the delivered precast concrete. These types of delays are expected in a project of this magnitude and the Contractors have done a good job in overcoming these obstacles. The current plan is that the crane will be needed on S. Central Street until April 15 to finish the precast installation on the north end of the garage.

Beginning next Monday, April 8, 2013, both S. Central Street and the eastern end of Union Avenue will be closed during construction hours. This work may take as long as that entire week to finish up. That portion of Union Avenue is within the swing radius of the crane so this closure is required for safety. The Union Avenue entrance to both the garage and the surface lot will be open however. On April 15, 2013, S. Central Street, Clinch Avenue, and Union Avenue will reopen to traffic at all times. At that time most of the garage will once again be available for parking.

On April 15, 2013, State Street will once again be closed for the week. A smaller crane will be brought in to install the overpass from the garage, over State Street, to the former escalator landing. When this work is ongoing, both the elevator and the temporary stairway will be out of service. The sidewalk on both Union Avenue and Clinch Avenue will be the designated routes to reach Gay Street. Both the elevator and the temporary stairway should be available night and weekends. By the end of April the overpass should be able to be used by the public on nights and weekends. The glass roof, lighting, and other details will still be in process so the overpass will likely not be open during the day for a few more weeks. The new elevator core has been constructed and the stairs are now in place there as well
 The schedule we are on currently will allow the State Street Garage expansion to be completely finished by July, 4, 2013.

A construction meeting is planned for next week so I will post again then to report any more details or changes to the schedule.

This weekend is the beginning of a very busy time Downtown with the start of the Dogwood Arts Festival (http://www.dogwoodarts.com/). The popular Rhythm N’ Blooms and the Chalk Walk will be this weekend at several venues in the Downtown area as well as many First Friday events including “Art on the Block” which will be held on the 100 Block of S. Gay Street. The next weekend is the Dogwood Arts Festival Art Fair. Several races will draw a lot of visitors Downtown this weekend as well including Color Me Rad on Saturday and the Knoxville Marathon on Sunday. Of course the last weekend in April will bring the wonderful Rossini Festival on S. Gay Street. The full schedule of events can be found on the City of Knoxville website at http://www.cityofknoxville.org/.

Thanks for your interest in the State Street Garage expansion project and I hope to see you soon Downtown soon.