Police have decided to close the Walnut Street walking bridge during the last night of the Riverbend.
“We realize this disrupts what has been people’s customs,” said Chattanooga police Lt. David Roddy, head of special operations for the department.
The lieutenant said the bridge will be closed after 4 p.m. on June 19. In the past, the bridge has been flooded with 50,000 pedestrians or more, he said.
Public works officials have advised police that the structure may not be safe with that many people crossing and that many festival-goers flowing into downtown or the North Shore creates additional traffic problems.
Lt. Roddy, interim police Chief Mark Rawlston and other police leaders met with local media this morning to share details of traffic plans and festival work.