Knoxville receives $42.6M USDOT grant to connect East Knoxville, Downtown

The city of Knoxville and Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC) are receiving a $42.6 million U.S. Department of Transportation Grant that will improve connectivity between East Knoxville and the city’s downtown. The project's goal is to make the urban wilderness in South Knoxville and downtown more accessible to East Knoxville residents via walking, biking, and other multi-modal transit solutions. Plans for the seven-phase project include more than 10 miles of greenways, multi-modal transportation pathways, and other public spaces; a cultural corridor connecting schools, churches and affordable housing sites; and storytelling through virtual images, holograms, voices and sound. Work is expected to begin in 2025.