Note: This story was updated Aug. 14 to correct the name of the executive director of the Tennessee Interstate Conservancy.
A project that sputtered and nearly died amid the pandemic-driven spike in construction and landscaping prices is under way at downtown Chattanooga’s Fourth Street interchange as the first piece of the “Gateway to Chattanooga” project finally sees some dirt flying.
A man with a ditch-digging machine and a pickup truck full of irrigation piping started work Aug. 1 along Fourth Street at the site of the $3 million beautification project intended to become a model for interstate beautification across the state. The contract was awarded in March to Knoxville-based Stansell Electric Co.
The first work is the water supply.
“The irrigation system is currently in the rough-in stage,” Gracie Shamblin, spokesperson for the state agency, said in an email. “Once the rough-in is complete, the contractor will begin preparing the planting beds.”