The process of upgrading Lincoln Street in Knoxville will begin this summer with preliminary engineering; but the real work won’t be apparent until next summer.

Snyder and Associates has been authorized by the City Council to begin scoping out Lincoln for next year’s construction project; City Manager Aaron Adams tells KNIA/KRLS News residents won’t see much to begin with, but that will change next year.

“What folks in town would actually notice will really start next summer. So this project has a lot of engineering to it; it’s going to involve a mill and overlay, so essentially grinding the top layer off the street that’s out there now, and replacing that,” Adams says.

“It also involves updating the crosswalks all along that stretch of road, and this is a long stretch; this is the entire length of Lincoln Street.”

Also scheduled is the installation of new traffic signals; Adams estimates the current ones date back to around the 1980’s, and they are ancient by current standards. They frequently need repair, and Adams says finding replacement parts for units this old is extremely difficult.

The real road work will begin in 2020, and Adams says because it involves milling and grinding the work should proceed relatively quickly…but there will still be some inconveniences for drivers, and the city and crews will do their best to keep them to a minimum.