Sections of Main Street open in Kingsport

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – Main Street in Kingsport is welcoming people back to the road, but there is still work to be done on the rebuild project .

The project began in November 2022 and has caused a series of road closures and delays. But almost two years into the project, sections of the street are beginning to open again.

“We’ve done what we’d call substantially complete from Sullivan Street to Cherokee Street,” said Kingsport Public Works Director Michael Thompson. “So we’ve got it open to traffic.”

An update was shared on Facebook on Friday stating that another portion of the street, going from Wexler to Shelby Street, was open. Thompson said that while the streets are open for vehicles and pedestrians, significant work is still happening on that section.

“From Unicoi to Wexler is closed down for the railroad work right now,” said Thompson. “So we will be coming back to that area later, of course, and doing the curb and gutter and side work. But there’s going to be a little delay before we get there because of that CSX work.”

Thompson said the City understands the frustration of those located in the middle of the construction. He added that they have worked to keep an open line of communication with those businesses.

“We made those communications like through all the waterline work,” Thompson said. “Making sure that we let people know ahead of time or adjusted our hours so that the water outages would occur in the best possible times.”

Thompson said they would continue to do what they can to minimize the inconvenience caused by the construction moving forward.

“We’re going to be continuing eastward from Clay to Shelby [street] area,” said Thompson. “And so what we’ll do is get that buttoned up. And so it’s all about maintaining as much access to all, as many businesses as possible.”

Thompson said they are optimistic about finishing early but are still planning for a competition date in Spring 2025.

Another public hearing on the project is scheduled for September 16th at 5:30 p.m. at Bays Mountain Brewing Company.

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