Traffic flows on U.S. Highway 27 at the 4th Street Downtown exit in Chattanooga.Following hot on the heels of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s release of its plan for a new Fourth Street interchange, a group of urban designers on Thursday unveiled their own vision for the historic corridor.
The $60 million proposal for the Fourth Street corridor includes a pedestrian walkway from downtown to Cameron Hill as its centerpiece, a tree-lined promenade and new public spaces.
The presentation was the fourth of six entries in the Urban Design Challenge, a program sponsored by nonprofit developer River City Co.
Currently serving as what consultant Bob McNutt calls a “three-block de-acceleration lane for U.S. 27,” the new vision for Fourth Street turns the focus from Hummer to human.
A $10 million walking bridge would connect the city to a planned multifamily residential development on the eastern slope of Cameron Hill, and would in turn allow nearly 5,000 employees at the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee headquarters a 15-minute stroll to downtown, according to the plan.