GONE: The unsightly mass of kudzu dangling from the retaining walls above the Interstate 275 South ramp to westbound Interstate 40, near the United Way offices.
REMOVED: Invasive plants and dense underbrush choking out native species off the I-40 entrances into and exits out of downtown Knoxville.
SPRUCED UP: The Augusta Avenue entrance to Fort Dickerson is getting a fresh new look, thanks to brush-clearing operations now underway. Same with two key Magnolia Avenue intersections.
Over several weeks, the City of Knoxville’s Public Service Department has been coordinating efforts to beautify some high-visibility public tracts downtown, in South Knoxville and in East Knoxville. The City has partnered with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff J.J. “Jimmy” Jones to use county work crews to remove undesirable weeds, brush and invasive vegetation. In other areas, City workers have been doing the labor-intensive horticultural maintenance.
Rights-of-way areas being improved:
- High-visibility tracts along westbound I-40 exits 388 (to Henley Street) and 389 (to James White Parkway/Neyland Drive), near the Knoxville welcome sign at Hall of Fame Drive;
- Eastbound I-40 at Hall of Fame Drive;
- Westbound I-40 coming off James White Parkway;
- The I-275 South intersection with I-40;
- The four corners of Magnolia Avenue/Hall of Fame Drive;
- The four corners of Magnolia/Fifth Avenue;
- The grounds at the Moody Avenue Recycling Center; and
- Fort Dickerson’s Augusta Avenue entrance.
“Access to some of these areas is limited and difficult,” said Chad Weth, the City’s Public Service Director. “But the partnership between the City’s Public Service crews and the county’s work crews has enabled us to eliminate some major eyesores in a short amount of time – at a very low cost to taxpayers. If you compare ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, the aesthetic improvement is dramatic.”
