We just returned from a cold and rainy groundbreaking ceremony for the new pedestrian walkway being built across Alcoa Highway/U.S. 129. This is, I believe, the first and only such pedestrian walkway over the highway.

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The walkway will connect the Alcoa greenway system from the vicinity of the Municipal Building on the east side of the highway to existing sidewalks in the St. Ives subdivision on the west side, and eventually to sidewalks and a planned greenway expansion along Louisville Rd.

The project is scheduled for completion by September, 2010.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson said the project was first proposed in 2001 when the city was working with TDOT on the original greenway project. In 2002 there was discussion as to whether it should be a tunnel or a bridge, and it was decided that a bridge would be more economical.

We spoke with Mr. Johnson after the ceremony about funding, and he said Congress had originally authorized $1 million for the project in the 2005 highway bill, but only appropriated $860,000. It was originally estimated that the project would cost $2.5 million, but costs have come down as a result of the construction slowdown, and the "shovel ready" project was approved for approx. $750,000 in stimulus funding from the American Reinvestement and Recovery Act.

The City of Alcoa Public Works and Engineering Dept., headed by Kenny Wiggins, will oversee the project. Asst. Director and Chief Engineer Andy Sonner is the city's project manager. Wilbur Smith Associates designed and engineered the project and Ross/Fowler is the architect. The general contractor for construction is Bell and Associates, who recently completed the I-40 SmartFix project in downtown Knoxville.

Also in attendance were City Commissioners Vaughn Belcher, Clayton Bledsoe, and Kenneth White, employees of Alcoa Public Works and Engineering, Vicky Flynn from Rep. John Duncan's office and Jane Chedester from Sen. Lamar Alexander's office.

Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson