Ahead of the Walnut Street Bridge closing for an 18-month renovation, Chattanoogans and business owners expressed understanding but disappointment the project would take so long.
George Brown, a Chattanooga resident who has lived downtown for 11 years, said in an interview that he uses the Walnut Street Bridge “pretty much every day.” Brown’s wife uses the bridge every day, sometimes even twice a day, he said.
“It’s just a nice way to get to Coolidge Park, see other people, get to see just a whole melting pot of Chattanooga on the bridge in one time,” Brown said.
The bridge “absolutely needs renovations,” Brown said. But, he said he is not certain the work should take 18 months.
“I think they (the city) could have maybe paid to have more people working or put incentives to have the bridge finished faster,” Brown said.
The bridge is closing so work crews can make improvements to its structural, electrical and deck deficiencies, according to the Walnut Street Bridge website. Unlike previous improvement efforts, the renovation project will see the bridge completely closed due to the scale of the work required, Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Communications and Marketing Director Brian Smith previously said.
“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.
(READ MORE: Art installation along Walnut Street Bridge detour route celebrates Chattanooga)
Some of the renovations include putting in cedar wood that will last longer and installing new electrical systems to improve lighting and security, as well as painting and sandblasting the bridge, according to Smith.
“I understand that it’s necessary, but I’m not excited for it,” resident Maddie Carbonie said in an interview.
Carbonie moved to Chattanooga about eight months ago. Using the Walnut Street Bridge is “something nice to do on a pretty day,” she said. The bridge is free entertainment, “which you don’t get everywhere,” and there are things to do on either side of the bridge, she said.
Just as the public recognizes the need for the bridge’s renovations, so do local business owners.
“Obviously, it’s an icon for our community, and they’ve done improvements on it before,” Catharine Bahner Daniels, owner of Plum Nelly and president of the North Shore Merchants Collective, said by phone. “But, obviously, (they) feel like they need to take a deeper dive — no pun intended, on a bridge — and make it better.”
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Pedestrians cross the Walnut Street Bridge by a detour sign on March 14, 2025.With several alternate methods for navigating the Walnut Street Bridge closure available, including a protected lane on Veterans Bridge and two free shuttles that cross the river, Bahner Daniels said she hopes people continue to come and support the locally owned business of the North Shore.
As a North Shore business owner, Geno Wallace, owner of Geno’s Salon and secretary of the North Shore Merchants Collective, said in an interview that he expects a minimal impact from the bridge closure. As with the Frazier Avenue traffic reconfiguration, it will take “just a little bit of time” for people to become more familiar with the new ways to access the North Shore, Wallace said. And, “there’s so much still to do and see,” he said.
(READ MORE: Frazier Avenue planters, meant for safety, destroyed one day after installation)
“We’re still accessible,” Wallace said. “We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere.”
Across the Tennessee River, The Ice Cream Show has stood by the downtown entrance to the Walnut Street Bridge for over a decade. People have told the shop’s owner, Lynda Curtis, that the bridge closure was “probably going to ruin” her business. Curtis said by phone she tends to be an optimist, and, while there could be a decrease in sales, she intends to stay open and keep her normal operating hours.
“I’ve been there 15 years, so I’m not going away,” Curtis said. “I like my location. I love Chattanooga.”
People can still walk up to The Ice Cream Show from the Tennessee Aquarium and continue on to the Hunter Museum of American Art, Curtis said. The shop has outdoor seating for people to use, she said.
While the Walnut Street Bridge is closed, Veterans Bridge will serve as the official detour route for pedestrians and cyclists traveling between downtown and the North Shore. Lemyn Victoria, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student from Memphis, likes to bike and walk on the pedestrian bridge. While Victoria is glad to see the Walnut Street Bridge getting fixed, she said in an interview that Veterans Bridge is “a way more hostile environment,” citing the speed of motorists and potential recklessness of drivers as a concern of hers.
“I’ll probably use the Veterans Bridge as a last resort,” Victoria said. “Because I rode on it the other day, and I just had a really hard time, and I was really uncomfortable.”
(READ MORE: Walnut Street Bridge closing: How to cross the Tennessee River on bike, foot or shuttle)
Prior to the Walnut Street Bridge’s closure, North Chattanooga resident Diane O’Sullivan and Hixson resident Alice Meyer took to Veterans Bridge to see the artwork installed along the route. Like Victoria, O’Sullivan and Meyer noted that the speed of passing cars is a concern. O’Sullivan and Meyer agree that the vehicles could go slower, the women said in an interview.
O’Sullivan said she approves of the protections put in place along the Veterans Bridge route, although she does not know how long they will last, as drivers could hit them.
“I like the more closed barrier,” O’Sullivan said. “If we could have that forever, that would be great. And, I think keeping this lane open after the renovation would be really great for bikers and for walkers as well.”
When asked if they intend to use Veterans Bridge during the closure or if they would stick to one side of the river, O’Sullivan and Meyer said they will still cross the river, whether its via Veterans Bridge or Market Street Bridge. O’Sullivan said she feels safer on Veterans Bridge because of the protections.
“I think we could build a habit of doing this,” O’Sullivan said. “We just don’t have that today.”
By the time Mark and Heidi Walling move to Chattanooga, the Walnut Street Bridge may be reopened, the couple said in an interview on the bridge. Any time the couple comes from western New York to see their daughter in Chattanooga, they use the pedestrian bridge, Mark Walling said.
The Walnut Street bridge is “a great people magnet,” Heidi Walling said. When the couple moves to Chattanooga and the bridge is reopened, they intend to spend lots of time outside and enjoy the sunshine, they said.
As for the renovation effort, Mark Walling said he is not bothered that it is happening.
“They don’t have a choice,” Mark Walling said. “They have to do it, I would say. It’s just a matter of when. And are they going to wait until somebody gets badly injured on the bridge to do it? Why would they wait for that?”
Contact Sam Still at sstill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6579.