The Bristol City Council will hear a presentation Tuesday night about the resurfacing of nearly a mile of State Street downtown, plus improvements to Lee Street and Piedmont Avenue.
State Street, from Commonwealth Avenue to East State Street near Slater Park, will be resurfaced in the spring, Jacob Chandler, the city’s director of public works, said Monday. At the same time, the city of Bristol, Tennessee, will resurface its side of the road. The two localities are using the same contractor, he added.
The paving of State Street will stop short of Piedmont Avenue from both directions because the Virginia and Tennessee transportation departments are partnering to refurbish the Piedmont Avenue bridge, Chandler said. The bridge is expected to be under construction beginning in 2028, according to information included with the meeting agenda.
Once the bridge project is completed, the resurfacing will be completed.
Prior to the resurfacing project, the city’s public works department will replace curb, gutter and sidewalk on State through the downtown area and then on a portion of East State Street, he said. That work is expected to begin in January.
Proposed improvements to Lee Street include expanded on-street parking and widening of the sidewalk on the west side from Country Music Way to State Street. When the project is completed, Lee will become a one-way street from Country Music Way, where the Birthplace of Country Music Museum is located, to State Street.
On Piedmont Avenue, the public works department also plans improvements to a turn lane and the sidewalk involving the ramps for the disabled.
The cost of the improvement projects was not available on Monday.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of city hall, 300 Lee St. Here’s the agenda.
Aug. 26, 6:20 p.m. This story was updated by removal of a sentence saying the sidewalk along State Street from Commonwealth Avenue to the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard would be dyed and stamped to resemble brick. After gathering more information, the city decided not to move forward with the project, according to Public Works Director Jacob Chandler.
