Karen Hundt: Idea Of Trail On Top Of New US 27 Retaining Wall Didn’t Work Out

A plan to work with TDOT to place a walking trail on one of the numerous retaining walls being built along US 27 between the Ogliati Bridge and Signal Mountain Boulevard did not work out, Karen Hundt of the Urban Design Studio said Monday.

Ms. Hundt said that was among the innovative ideas for creating connections between Manufacturers Road and the top of Stringers Ridge.

She said, “The slope was just too steep. We had to back off on that.”

But she told members of the Planning Commission that many other aspects of the Moccasin Bend Gateway Plan are going forward.

One involves working with TDOT to make use of the interior of the new interchange that is under construction at US 27 and Manufacturers Road. She said, after TDOT has completed its work, the plan is to landscape the interchange and add areas for biking and walking.

She said a tall cylindrical public art piece is also planned there “that will be seen from a distance and let people know they are entering a special area.”

Ms. Hundt said it is planned to rework Manufacturers Road leading toward the Moccasin Bend National Park so that it is “the most beautiful roadway in the city.” She said it will include new landscaping as well as bike and walking lanes.

She said another aim is to construct a Brown’s Gap Interpretive Trail off Manufacturers Road. She said there is a winding narrow cut through Stringer’s Ridge that was used by some of those who started from Ross’s Landing on the Trail of Tears. She said interpretive signs will be installed along the trail.

Ms. Hundt said the Riverwalk will be extended to the planned Moccasin Bend Interpretive Center. She said it will first follow along Manufacturers Road, then will veer down toward the river.

There will be an emphasis on making connections from Manufacturers Road to the Bend, the business section of North Chattanooga, Stringer’s Ridge and on to Red Bank, she said.

Another focus is to restore a remnant of a creek leading to the Tennessee River and to build a boardwalk across an area to be known as “the Wet Woods” on Rock Tenn property.