The road surrounding Eastgate Town Center soon could be upgraded, and the area around the Brainerd Mission could become a little greener.
A contractor is designing plans for a newly aligned Eastgate Loop. The plans also will include new greenery around the Brainerd Mission and new Brainerd library branch.
Steve Leach, administrator for Public Works, said the whole area will change once the redesign is completed.
"What's it going to look like?" he asked. "We don't know yet."
The City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday to add $19,500 to a contract with Arcadis Inc., an engineering company working on water quality designs throughout the Brainerd area.
Officials with Arcadis directed all questions to the city.
The full contract for Arcadis is $294,000. Leach said the additional money would pay for the designs of Eastgate Loop.
The 1,100-foot road will be realigned and smoothed out.
There is just one small hitch. The road is private and belongs to Eastgate Town Center LLC.
"We're all in agreement that something needs to be done," Leach said.
Paul Mollchock, spokesman for the mall, agreed.
He said the mall is in talks with the city about possibly giving the road to the city.
"It's not really a private road," he said.
Mollchock said the road is used by public buses and the general public to access other commercial areas. He said it wouldn't be a very hard bargain for the city.
"We would donate it," he said.
Councilwoman Carol Berz, who represents the area, said it is just one small portion of the larger Brainerd Corridor Plan coming to fruition. The larger picture is to get more green and less gray asphalt, she said.
Berz said she was looking forward to the completion of the area.
"It'll look totally different," she said. "It's going to look like what was conceptualized four years ago."
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
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