Plans are in place to build a pair of pedestrian bridges acrossa lowered Central Avenue between Deloach and Zach Curlin less thanone month after a University of Memphis graduate student was killedwhile crossing that street.
Memphis City Council members approved the plan June 1, markingthe final hurdle for funding the $3.2 million project, constructionon which officials say should start in about a year.
The plan includes a $750,000 grant from the Tennessee Departmentof Transportation and about $1.5 million from the city, with TheUniversity making up the difference, said U of M Vice President ofBusiness and Finance Charles Lee.
The plan calls for two bridges connecting the Central parkinglot to the main campus. One walkway will cross Central at what ispresently the crosswalk, while the other will cross at theengineering school complex near Zach Curlin, said Tony Poteet,assistant vice president of campus planning and design.
Crews will lower Central -- as much as 6 feet or more in someareas -- between Deloach and Zach Curlin. The lowering will makethe proposed bridges more pedestrian friendly by allowing studentsto cross closer to ground level, rather than climbing numerousstairs.
Fences on both sides of Central will serve as a deterrent tocrossing illegally and funnel pedestrians toward the bridges. Intheory, the fences and the lowered street level will make itdifficult for anyone to cross at the street, making the crossingsafe for pedestrian traffic.
"One of the things we are going to do is put fencing in eachside of the street," Lee said. "It won't be chain link ... it won'tbe wooden. It'll be something like wrought iron that is pleasing tothe eye.
"It won't look like a prison."
The crossings will also meet federal wheelchairspecifications.
Another portion of the project focuses on the Cecil C. HumphreysSchool of Law, which has an occasional sewer leakage problem in thebasement, Lee said.
The plan proposes enlarging drainage pipes under Central inresponse to the problem.
Lee said he expects the project to take about two years forapproval and design and construction. If all goes to plan,construction would begin next June.
In the meantime, foot and automotive traffic will have to avoideach other. Signs have been erected along the proposed stretch ofCentral encouraging pedestrians and drivers to use caution.
In the past 10 years, two U of M students have been killed onthat stretch of Central Avenue. Most recently, graduate studentClinton Watts was killed on May 14, when he was struck whilestanding in the center turning lane trying to cross the street.
Although Lee said the recent tragedy was fresh in everybody'smind, the Central project was already budgeted. Going to citycouncil was just the next step.
Memphis City Council member Carol Chumney said the tragedyprobably played a lesser role in the decision than otherfactors.
"It was a combination that the state was picking up a greaterpart of the project, fixing the drainage problem and also helpingwith the safety issues," Chumney said.
In fact, the inclusion of the drainage expansion might havesaved the whole proposal.
"To be honest, if drainage wasn't a part of (the proposal) Iprobably wouldn't have voted for it," Chumney said.
Other less expensive proposals were quickly dismissed by thecouncil, including closing off portions of Central or installing araised median to give pedestrians an island to wait on as theycross the street.
"Clearly, there were alternatives that would have been lessexpensive, but we would have lost the state funding and thedrainage (solution)," Chumney said.
Money had been allocated for improving the intersection forseveral years, but action had yet to be taken, Chumney said.
"It takes awhile to get everything in order (on a largeproject)," Chumney said.
The U of M will work closely with the city throughout theproject, contributing input on design and engineering, officialssaid.
