JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Construction on the $33 million West Walnut Street redevelopment is still moving according to plan.
Johnson City officials walked the area on Wednesday evening to see how construction was progressing. Assistant City Manager Randy Trivette said they’re making a priority list of steps they want accomplished during the construction process.
Trivette said that the completion of Ashe Street is at the top of the list at the moment. He said the street is a vital part of making businesses on West Walnut Street more accessible to the public.
“The reason we want to do that is to allow it to be used to detour and allow pedestrian traffic to access businesses that are on West Walnut,” Trivette said.
The goal is to have Ashe Street accessible by the end of September. Parking on the street and sidewalks would be available for cars and pedestrians.
This project has been ongoing for months. Johnson City engineer Wallace McCulloch said that it’s important for a street like Ashe Street to be available before the entire project is complete to show residents that significant progress is being made.
“I think people need to see some completion,” McCulloch said. “They need to see something that’s finished that gives them hope for the rest of the project.”
The next phase of the project is to continue to move west. Trivette said the last phase is to complete work near University Parkway.
“We’re looking at early summer of 2025 to kind of completely finish the project,” Trivette said.
