Construction gets underway on Northwest Greenway Connector
July 21, 2021

KNOXVILLE - Construction has begun on the $1.6 million Northwest Greenway Connector – a key half-mile stretch of trail between Victor Ashe Park and the state-funded pedestrian bridge spanning Western Avenue at Ball Camp Pike.

Adams Contracting crews this week were installing erosion prevention and sediment controls on Ball Camp Pike. Meanwhile, a crew from Progression Electric was boring a hole to install a footer to relocate the signal pole that warns motorists they are approaching Fire Station No. 17 on Western Avenue. Image courtesy of City of Knoxville

When completed in spring 2022, the Northwest Greenway Connector will link the 8.9 miles of connected pedestrian options (greenways and sidewalks) around the park with another 7.2-mile network of sidewalks on Western Avenue and Schaad Road.

Within a three-mile radius of Victor Ashe Park, there’s a total of 73 miles of greenways and sidewalks.

“The Northwest Greenway Connector is a strategic connection,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said. “Building this relatively short greenway will create new options for hundreds of families to walk or bike to reach the park as well as workplaces, schools, churches and other destinations. Completing this link will make it more convenient for many to incorporate a little exercise and enjoy Knoxville’s natural beauty as part of their regular or even everyday commute.”

(Map showing the route of the greenway connector)

Through the end of the year, a section of Ball Camp Pike between Western Avenue and Bradshaw Road will be closed as crews with Adams Contracting build the connector and install drainage infrastructure on the north side of the pike.

The Northwest Greenway Connector is anchored its southern end by a $3 million 500-foot-long pedestrian bridge that crosses Western Avenue; the foot bridge was funded and built by the state.

The long-range plan is to extend the greenway southward to connect Western Avenue at the pedestrian bridge to Middlebrook Pike and on to the Third Creek Greenway. This Phase II work is fully funded and in the design stage. Bids are scheduled to be sought in winter 2023 with construction on Phase II beginning in 2024.