Governor Phil Bredesen announced today that the state will provide an enhancement grant in the amount of $614,400 to assist with the construction of the Edgewood Park section of the First Creek Greenway in Knox County.

The Edgewood Park Greenway is a section of the First Creek Greenway Project. These grant funds will be used to design and construct a pedestrian and bicycle transportation corridor to travel from North Knoxville to Fulton High School to the city's Edgewood Park, Knox County Library, and Larry Cox Senior Center. The Edgewood Park Greenway Project is approximately 0.6 mile in length and will include 10 ft. wide walk and bike trails. This project will eventually link south to First Creek Greenway in First Creek Park and the bike lanes on the Hall of Fame Drive just south of I-40. When it is completed the First Creek Greenway will be a ten mile primary bicycle/pedestrian corridor that links 31 parks.

"The Edgewood Park Greenway will create the first safe and attractive pedestrian and bicycle corridor from North Knoxville to the city's Edgewood Park," said Governor Bredesen. "I'm pleased the state is able to provide funds to help construct this new section of the First Creek Greenway and further improve pedestrian and bike connections within the city of Knoxville."

The grant is made possible through a federally funded program administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

"Transportation enhancement grants provide cities, counties and state organizations the opportunity to fund the restoration of historic facilities, bike and pedestrian trails, landscaping, streetscaping and other non-traditional transportation projects," said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. "The new greenway, when complete, will provide bicyclists and pedestrians with a safer corridor for traveling from North Knoxville to downtown and the University of Tennessee."

TDOT has funded more than $200 million in transportation related projects through the Transportation Enhancement Grant Program. The federal grant program was established by Congress in the early 1990's to fund activities designed to strengthen the cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the nation's transportation system.