Knoxville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon makes a major announcement Wednesday: the Gay Street Bridge will never again open to regular traffic.

The Knoxville icon has been closed since last summer, and the city’s latest update has confirmed only pedestrians and cyclists will make the trip over the bridge in the future.

“We are now aware that the bridge will never be able to resume everyday traffic. We are, however, glad to announce that we will be able to open it to pedestrians and cyclists.”

The Tennessee Department of Transportation ordered the 127 year-old bridge closed after 2024’s regular inspection, citing a problem with critical load-bearing infrastructure.

The bridge’s anticipated lifespan was only 70 or 80 years.

Rough numbers provided by the city on Wednesday put the pedestrian-only repairs at $2 million, versus opening it fully, which would cost upwards of $50 million.

Gay Street Bridge’s conversion to a pedestrian-only crossing will not, however, affect the city’s other big bridge project: a new pedestrian bridge on the University of Tennessee’s campus. Much of the funding for that project came from federal dollars, which Kincannon said has tied the city’s hands a bit.

“When you get federal and state dollars for a project, you don’t get to pick and choose how you spend it,” she said.

As for a timeline, Kincannon said the city hopes to reopen the bridge to pedestrians by the end of 2025 or in early 2026.