The City of Knoxville reopened its 360-foot-long boat dock at Volunteer Landing near Calhoun’s restaurant Friday.
“The dock is a key amenity of Volunteer Landing,” said Chip Barry, the city’s deputy chief of operations. “In addition to daily public use, Visit Knoxville and local nonprofits make use of the dock for major public events, which is why it was so critical to have this open before the busy boating season.”
Volunteer Landing is a 13-acre public gathering space enjoyed by boaters and paddlers coming off the Tennessee River; thousands of fishermen, bicyclists and pedestrians using the 19-mile east-to-west downtown greenway system; and visitors to major riverfront events.
In the fall, it’s also the scene of Knoxville’s staple Vol Navy tailgating tradition held before University of Tennessee football games.
The 35-year-old dock — originally built for the 1982 World’s Fair — was closed last year after a privately owned boat struck and damaged it. The city had been preparing to make improvements to the dock before the boating mishap.
The replacement dock cost $270,000. A Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency grant financed 75 percent of the project, according to the City of Knoxville.
City officials are in the design phase for replacing the Vol Navy dock to the west, near Neyland Stadium. The project will be scheduled to either be completed before the 2018 UT football season begins, or work will get underway once the football season concludes.
For more information on Volunteer Landing, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/parks.
Source: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2018/04/20/volunteer-landing-boat-dock-knoxville-reopens/537371002/
