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A full list of permitted and prohibited uses is available on the City’s website.

The stabilized bridge will be closely monitored going forward, including routine inspections and capacity limits. City officials will, however, vote on a $2 million repair plan in March that would make the bridge safe for pedestrians and cyclists.

“We were hoping we could restore it back to its regular loads, and that is not possible because of the wear and tear after 127 years,” Kincannon said.

So it feels good, and Christmas came a little early for those of us who love the Gay Street Bridge.”

In addition to structural repairs, the project included a reconfiguration of the bridge’s north entrance at Gay Street and Hill Avenue, long a confusing and vehicle-heavy intersection. It's the oldest bridge spanning the Tennessee River in Knoxville.

Will the Gay Street Bridge be fixed?

Partially.

Engineers will work to make sure the bridge is safe for pedestrians, bikers and some emergency vehicles.

Repairs won't cost more than $2 million, Kincannon said.

What's going to happen to the Gay Street Bridge?

Allowing emergency vehicles, Knoxville Area Transit buses and pedestrians is a temporary fix. “And you're really talking about the valuation of a new bridge. That's when Tennessee Department of Transportation crews found a distorted steel piece that could have caused part of the bridge to buckle.

We don't know what could have happened if the bridge stayed open.

Redundant turn lanes were removed, making room for new landscaped areas with benches, trees, shrubs and perennial plantings. If approved, Kincannon estimates repairs will be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of 2026.

… So it's kind of served its life.”

The city has opted instead for a cheaper $2 million project which would make the bridge safe for pedestrians while also buying time for city leaders to develop a long-term plan, according to Gresham Smith representative Jason Brady.

“Our intent for doing these repairs is to allow the city time to be able to go and get funding to replace the bridge, and so we're hoping that maybe that's somewhere in a five to 10 year window, but we don't expect that this bridge is going to be in service any longer than that,” Brady said.

Kincannon indicated she didn’t know what exactly a replacement bridge would look like, when it would happen or what it would cost.

Council supported the $2.7 million investment to stabilize the bridge and make it safe again. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com.

CORRECTION: Knoxville mayoral spokesperson Kristin Farley's first name was misspelled in the original version of this report.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 7 things to know about Knoxville's Gay Street Bridge now that it won't reopen to cars

Gay Street Bridge to remain permanently closed to vehicles due to structural damage

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon announced on Wednesday the historic Gay Street Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River connecting North and South Knoxville, will never reopen to regular vehicular traffic due to the price of repairs.

Instead, the City pivoted, working with nationally recognized bridge design consultants Gresham Smith and longtime local contractor Charles Blalock & Sons Inc. to stabilize the structure and reimagine its role as a pedestrian- and bike-only crossing.

“It was a sad day when the Gay Street Bridge was ordered closed for safety reasons, and at the time we didn’t know what it would take to reopen it,” Kincannon said.

The maximum occupancy is capped at 1,000 people at any one time, with cameras and on-site security planned for major events like home games and the Fourth of July.

Long-term, the City has applied for a $1 million Federal Highway Administration grant to study future options including the potential replacement of the bridge.

The South Waterfront Pedestrian Bridge project will be paid for with state and federal grants, plus other sources.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation approved early this year was the final piece of major funding needed for the $60 million bridge. But it won't open to regular traffic.

Kincannon said the city will be ready to make necessary fixes for pedestrians starting in March after the Knoxville City Council approves money for repairs.

What was once a paved traffic zone now reads more like a small plaza.

“This used to be all paved over, pretty much,” Kincannon said. “Now you’re seeing new plantings, trees and green space. “We don’t know if it could’ve been catastrophic.”

How old is the Gay Street Bridge?

The Gay Street Bridge is 127 years old.

“We know it may feel like it took a long time, but for an infrastructure stabilization project as complicated as this, it was actually completed in record speed,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said.

The reopening reconnects downtown Knoxville and the South Waterfront after the bridge was abruptly closed in June 2024 due to safety concerns identified by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The Knoxville City Council next week will likely approve an additional $100,500 to pay for engineers to monitor the bridge as crews prep it for pedestrians.

Are the Gay Street Bridge repairs related to the South Knoxville pedestrian bridge?

No. It feels good to keep that promise.

That road has seen a large amount of additional growth in recent years, drawing a multimillion-dollar infrastructure investment from the city.

“All of those businesses along Sevier Avenue are the lifeblood of that corridor, and they have asked us, if at all possible, to please make it open to pedestrians,” Smith said.