NEWS

Cumberland Avenue is getting another facelift to match the streetscape

Ryan Wilusz
Knoxville
  • The University of Tennessee and the city are funding a $1.4 million facelift for Cumberland Avenue.
  • The project includes updating sidewalks, crosswalks, street lights and traffic signals.
  • The work is expected to finish this winter and could cause occasional lane closures.
  • The project is part of ongoing efforts to better connect the university with downtown via Cumberland Avenue.

It turns out the massive streetscape project that changed “the Strip” near the University of Tennessee’s campus in 2017 was not the final facelift for Cumberland Avenue.

The university and the city are now partnering to fund additional sidewalk, crosswalk, traffic signal and street light improvements on Cumberland Avenue, and the work has already begun.

The roughly $1.4 million project, which will be split between the city and university, started Monday and is scheduled to continue through football season and wrap up this winter.

The results will match the work completed during the streetscape, but the project will be completed on a much smaller scale. 

Emphasizing the 'pedestrian nature'

Crews will add new "decorative crosswalks” and street lights along Cumberland Avenue between 16th and 11th streets, according to a city news release. The crosswalks will look similar to the ones already in place on the Strip.

This portion of the project includes the crosswalks that cross and run parallel to Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville’s Engineering Director Jim Hagerman said in an email from city spokeswoman Mary Leidig.

Crosswalks within the project zone will be replaced to look like the ones already on the Strip pictured here.

A new crosswalk will be created at 13th Street.

“Crosswalks and streetlights carry the look and feel of the Cumberland Streetscape project through campus,” Hagerman said in the email. “The crosswalks are more visible than standard crosswalks and emphasize the pedestrian nature of the corridor.”

The street lighting, he said, will also be more pedestrian-friendly — illuminating both the sidewalk and the street.

Improving signals and sidewalks 

Crews will replace traffic signals on Cumberland Avenue at the Phillip Fulmer Way, Circle Drive, 13th Street and 11th Street intersections. These traffic signals will be hung on mast arms rather than wires.

Pedestrians cross Cumberland Avenue at 13th Street Wednesday evening, July 31, 2019. Crews will replace traffic signals on Cumberland Avenue at the Phillip Fulmer Way, Circle Drive, 13th Street and 11th Street intersections. The new signals will be hung on mast arms rather than wires.

The transition will include upgrading the signal hardware and communications to make the signals more reliable, programmable and able to adapt to future technology, according to Hagerman.  

Also, they simply look better and are less vulnerable to wind, the release said. 

Audible pedestrian push buttons will be installed at each intersection within the project zone, according to Hagerman. The only intersection that currently has pedestrian push buttons is at 11th street. 

Curb cuts — the shallow ramps at sidewalk intersections — will also be replaced at the intersections where traffic signals are being updated.

A pedestrian crosses Cumberland Avenue at Phillip Fulmer Way Wednesday evening, July 31, 2019. Crews will replace traffic signals on Cumberland Avenue at the Phillip Fulmer Way, Circle Drive, 13th Street and 11th Street intersections. The new signals will be hung on mast arms rather than wires.

Curb cuts must meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements and have to be updated when the city works on a street, Hagerman said.  

Small-scale project with 'minimal impacts'

The city is asking drivers to keep an eye out for occasional lane closures in the project zone. Signs about closures will be posted in advance. 

A pedestrian crosses Cumberland Avenue at 16th Street Wednesday evening, July 31, 2019. Crews will replace traffic signals on Cumberland Avenue at the Phillip Fulmer Way, Circle Drive, 13th Street and 11th Street intersections. The new signals will be hung on mast arms rather than wires.

There will be no lane closures during the first full week of classes at UT or on football Saturdays. There will also be no sidewalk closures on game days, Hagerman said. 

“The project is ready to go, and it will have minimal impacts to traffic, so we saw no reason to delay,” he said. “The project is on a much smaller scale of the Cumberland Avenue Streetscape project.”

Hagerman said lane configurations will not be changed, and sidewalks will not be widened as they were during the streetscape work. 

“Though there will be some temporary lane and sidewalk closures, it will be relatively easy to schedule these closures so that they have minimal impact at busy times,” he said.

This project is part of ongoing efforts to better connect the university with downtown via the Cumberland Avenue corridor.

Pedestrians walk along Cumberland Avenue towards 17th Street Wednesday evening, July 31, 2019. Crews will replace traffic signals on Cumberland Avenue at the Phillip Fulmer Way, Circle Drive, 13th Street and 11th Street intersections. The new signals will be hung on mast arms rather than wires, like the ones at the 17th street intersection.

Jeff Maples, UT Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, said in the news release that the project should also make the area safer.

Southern Constructors Inc. was selected as the contractor for the intersection improvements.