Part of Jackson Avenue near where it intersects with Gay Street is tentatively scheduled to be closed to traffic beginning Wednesday, March 18, for a period of four-to-six weeks.

The closing is necessary for underground electrical vault construction work that is part of the Gay Street Streetscapes project to renovate the 100 and 200 Blocks of Gay Street.

The Jackson Avenue work, however, will not begin until contractors have completed ongoing electrical work at the other end of the street - where the 200 Block of Gay Street has been closed since early February. They expect to be done and reopen all of Gay Street to traffic before next Wednesday. 
 
Despite the partial closure of Jackson, drivers will still be able to flow along both Jackson Avenue and Gay Street - though there will be some changes.

The main one is that West Jackson Avenue between Central Street in the Old City and Gay Street will convert to one-way westbound traffic only. That means drivers can still travel uphill on Jackson (away from the Old City) to Gay Street where they will have to turn right or travel on through to Broadway.

Drivers traveling east on Jackson will not be able to drive down into the Old City but they can turn either way onto Gay Street when they hit the intersection of Jackson and Gay.

Both lanes of Gay Street will be open during this phase of the construction.

Originally contractors had planned to completely close the intersection of Jackson and Gay but have since determined they could complete the underground work using one lane of Jackson Avenue.

The Gay Street Streetscapes project involves the replacement of the street and both sidewalks in addition to improvements like wider sidewalks and added features like trees, bike racks and street furniture.

For more information about the Gay Street 100 Block Project please go to www.cityofknoxville.org/100block/