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Reuniting the City with the Mississippi River

After years of deterioration and underutilization, the Memphis, TN, riverfront became the focus of the Riverfront Development Corporation—an agency dedicated to the development of a world-class riverfront destination rooted in the unique history and character of Memphis and that showcases the Mississippi River’s power and majesty.

Tetra Tech, teamed with Cooper Robertson and Partners, prepared the Master Plan to redevelop five miles of historic Mississippi River frontage in order to create an active, publicly accessible riverfront with a connected park system, promenades, and river overlooks.

Tetra Tech addressed a number of engineering issues, including:

• The fluctuation of the Mississippi. Because of the extreme variation in river stages, the city operates at these key elevations: the top of the bluff (+75 feet), Riverside Drive (+50 feet), and the river level (0 to 50 feet). The plan overcame the differences between these three elements.
• Pedestrian access to the riverfront. Tetra Tech completed the redesign of Riverside Drive, including preliminary design and cost estimates for narrowing traffic lanes, traffic engineering, addition of medians and crosswalks, required storm drainage, utility modifications, pavement markings, signalization, and retaining structures. The connection of the South Main area to Tom Lee Park and the river was realized through the addition of several new grand staircases.
• Downtown traffic. Downtown streets were underutilized while Riverside Drive was overcrowded. The plan creates an opportunity to distribute traffic throughout the Downtown grid.
• Downtown parking. A key parking strategy is being implemented to incorporate the trolley as a means for people to move from parking to their destinations.
• Residential concerns. Downtown is surrounded by a variety of residential neighborhoods—a unique condition for an urban waterfront. The plan reinforces residential development north and south of Downtown along the riverfront.

Highlight:
The Plan received Special Citation for a Bold and Integrative Concept from the Boston Society of Architects/American Institute of Architects New York Chapter Urban Design Awards for 2005.