From 3 a.m. Saturday, July 11, though 6 a.m. Monday, July 13, a westbound lane of Cumberland Avenue will be closed between Volunteer Boulevard and the ramps east of Alcoa Highway. The practical effect will be a complete closure of all lanes in this two-block section of Cumberland Avenue for 51 hours.

Crews will be rerouting a water line around a 42-inch stormwater line deep below Cumberland Avenue.

Two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes of Cumberland Avenue already are closed between University Commons and West Volunteer Boulevard. The weekend water line relocation will temporarily close the single westbound lane that’s currently open through that area.

The rerouting of the water line will close the University Commons Way intersection at Cumberland Avenue. Shoppers or diners wishing to access the University Commons retail complex may do so via Joe Johnson Drive and Neyland Drive.

The utility work also will close the intersection of Volunteer Boulevard at Cumberland Avenue and the entrance to Metron Center Way from Cumberland Avenue.

The City of Knoxville’s $17 million initiative to redesign Cumberland Avenue from Alcoa Highway east to 17th Street is changing the existing four-lane street to a three-lane cross section with a raised median and left-turn lanes at intersections. Sidewalks will be widened and landscaped, and utility lines relocated, to create a more attractive, safer, pedestrian-friendly corridor.

Construction is proceeding in two phases, with Phase I (from Alcoa Highway to 22nd Street) to be completed by the end of 2015, and Phase II (from 22nd Street to just east of 17th Street) scheduled for completion in August 2017.

After this weekend’s full closure of the two-block section, one westbound lane on Cumberland Avenue will reopen Monday morning, July 13. Then, by Aug. 1, one eastbound lane will reopen. There will be one lane of traffic in each direction – eastbound and westbound – through the end of the year as Phase I work is completed.

For more information about the Cumberland Avenue reconstruction, regular updates and special offers from area merchants, see www.cumberlandconnect.com.