Starting Monday, Jan. 30, construction will begin on new sidewalks on both sides of North Central Street between the railroad tracks and Depot Avenue in the Old City, and upgrades will get underway on the stormwater system.

The 90-day project soon will require a complete closure of the 200 block of North Central Street, adjacent to White Lily Flats. The closure – tentatively set to begin Monday, Feb. 6 – will include the intersection at Central and Depot Avenue. 

Work by Design and Construction Services Inc. crews on the $250,000 streetscapes project is scheduled to be done weekdays between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Some Saturday work may be scheduled. Pedestrian access along North Central will be maintained when possible, and access to White Lily Flats will be maintained throughout.

Northbound motorists on Central Street will be detoured along either West Jackson Avenue or East Jackson Avenue, depending on their destination. Northbound through traffic should turn right onto East Jackson, left onto Morgan Street and left on Magnolia Avenue to reconnect with Central. Motorists wanting to access businesses on Depot Avenue such as the Mill & Mine or the Blue Slip Winery should turn left off northbound Central onto West Jackson, then right onto North Gay Street, then right onto Depot.

Once the 200 block of North Central Street is completed, additional City investments in infrastructure in the Old City and Downtown North areas will follow:

• A $615,000 streetscapes project for the north side of West Jackson, between Central and the ramp to Gay Street, will begin in late spring.

Southern Constructors Inc. crews will be rebuilding and widening the sidewalk, landscaping, and installing new lighting. SCI last year did the streetscapes work on the south side of that same section of West Jackson.

• Later this year, an infrastructure upgrade of a 12-block stretch of North Central Street, between Magnolia Avenue and Woodland Avenue, will get underway. A contract for the work has not yet been awarded.

The project will include new curbs, “bulb outs” and other features to improve pedestrian safety; better-defined on-street parking; better-marked bike lanes; stormwater and utility improvements; resurfacing; and landscaping.

The work – funded jointly by the City, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration – includes a linear park at Baxter Avenue and Central Street, which will serve as a gateway to Historic Happy Holler.