Metro officials say they’ll build a bridge from where Division St. dead-ends just east of 8th Ave. to connect traffic across the railroad tracks, thereby making 2nd Ave. more accessible from the up-and-coming Gulch. (Image via Metro Government of Nashville)
A hip and growing neighborhood in a sometimes awkward spot near downtown Nashville is set to get a little more user-friendly. A $20 million highway bridge is set to connect Division Street from the Gulch to 2nd Avenue.
People with experience navigating in an unfamiliar city are familiar with this problem: you can see where you’re trying to get, but the roads won’t take you there. Just a few blocks south of downtown’s new convention center, the easiest way from 8th Ave. to 2nd is less than intuitive.
Visitors who try Division Street will find it’s divided – It hits a dead-end by some railroad tracks.
Metro says a plan for Division to cross above the tracks has actually been on the books for decades. Now, with hundreds more people living in new condos nearby and new businesses on the way, officials say the bridge – with sidewalks and bike lanes – will help with traffic and growth.
Officials are talking with the owners of property where they’re planning the bridge, saying the hope is to avoid use of eminent domain for the project, and to break ground by fall of 2014.
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