[slideshow-1]
The city of Memphis is looking to build a pedestrian bridge connecting Front Street to Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid.
The proposed Pinch Pedestrian Bridge went before the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Design Review Board (DRB) Tuesday.
The 190-foot pedestrian bridge would run from 301 N Front Street, just south of the I-40 ramp to the Bass Pro Shops parking lot.
The city hopes the new bridge will “solve a critical connectivity problem,” according to the city’s application to the DRB.
Currently, it takes about 25 minutes to get from the Memphis Convention Center to Bass Pro, but once the bridge is constructed that walk is expected to be trimmed by 16 minutes.
The bridge will be constructed, incorporating design elements of the Pyramid, the remodeled Convention Center, and the Mississippi River.
As part of the project, traffic signals and pedestrian crosswalks will also be added to the intersection at Front Street and Jackson Avenue.
A pedestrian bridge connecting the Pinch district to the Pyramid was first constructed in 1991, but it was removed when the Pyramid was re-purposed as the Bass Pro Shops in 2015 and never replaced.
A pedestrian bridge connecting the two assets was identified as a necessity in a comprehensive plan for the Pinch District done in 2016. The proposed bridge aims to meet this connectivity need.
The project is expected to cost $3.8 million with construction beginning in spring 2020, according to the Memphis Business Journal.
