Chattanoogans have about 10 days left to cross the Walnut Street Bridge before the historic landmark closes for an 18-month renovation project.
The bridge will close to the public March 17, but until then pedestrians can still traverse the crossing. Unlike previous improvement efforts, the renovation project will see the bridge completely closed due to the scale of the work required, according to Brian Smith, communications and marketing director for Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors.
“It’s just better and overall more efficient for the construction crews to close down the bridge in its entirety instead of trying to do piece here, piece here,” Smith said by phone.
Alternative plans, which would have had the bridge remain partially open in some manner, would have extended the renovation timeline by months, Smith said.
“While no one’s really excited” about the 18-month closure, it is “a whole lot better” than a longer closure, he said.