The City of Knoxville will reopen the Jackson Avenue ramp to traffic today after the Tennessee Department of Transportation approved repairs on the structure.
The repairs were completed earlier this month.The city closed the ramp to traffic – between State Street and Gay Street – on April 18 after TDOT inspectors determined it had structural deficiencies and recommended it be shut down.
The ramp, which connects the Old City to the 100 block of Gay Street, has remained open for pedestrians.
After receiving TDOT’s report city engineers began developing a plan to fix the problem and subsequently signed a contract in late May with Southern Constructors to make the necessary repairs.
The city anticipates replacing the Jackson Avenue ramps – using federal bridge replacement funding – within three-to-five years.