‘Major’ Northshore improvements soon to start
CONCORD — Knox County Engineering and Public Works has announced it “expects to begin work late this summer on major improvements to South Northshore Drive between The Cove at Concord Park and Choto Road,” according to a press release from the office of Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
“The modernization efforts, which should wrap up in the summer of 2025, come after years of work to improve an adjacent portion of the busy corridor,” the release further stated. “The work will require occasional one-lane traffic, but crews will attempt to limit the lane reductions to non-busy travel times.”
Knox County Commission recently approved right-of-way acquisition for crews to continue modernizing Northshore Drive from The Cove to the roundabout at Choto Drive.
“We want to make the lanes wider, the shoulders wider and the side slopes safer,” said Jim Snowden, senior director of Knox County Engineering and Public Works. “We’re going to update guardrails to current safety standards.”
Saying the project also “will improve pedestrian safety,” Snowden added, “The greenway currently stops here at The Cove at Concord Park. We do want to extend it down to the pedestrian facilities that exist at Choto Road. We hope to really improve the safety of this section of Northshore Drive.”
During the last few years, “We added a turn lane into entrance of The Cove at Concord Park,” Snowden said. “The county built a section of greenway to a new trailhead that was constructed at Callaway Ridge so folks can park and ride their bicycles.”
“Snowden said he is especially proud of the boardwalk built beneath two bridges to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross Northshore Drive safely,” the release stated.
“Mayor Glenn Jacobs, (At-Large) Commissioner Larsen Jay, (5th District) Commissioner John Schoonmaker and the entirety of the Knox County Commission gave us the funds to eliminate that dangerous at-grade crossing,” Snowden said. “It’s safer for vehicles as well as pedestrians.”
