City leaders shocked by funding loss for Elvis Presley Blvd., will fight to get it back

It’s the latest roadblock in the plan to redesign Elvis Presley Boulevard. After city leaders told WREG for months construction should start this summer on the second phase of the street’s $42 million facelift, that timeline is no longer true after The Tennessee Department of Transportation pulled its financial commitment to the project. That news was a surprise to city leaders, especially given what the city had already invested into the project. City Public Works Director Robert Knecht called it a “shock.”

“No one communicated that to us,” Knecht said. “I mean, why would we proceed with the utility relocation? Why would we we go forward with right of way certification if if TDOT was saying, oh, we’re not thinking about funding Elvis Presley Boulevard anymore, we’re going to go with this new plan. There’s no logic to that.”

Meanwhile, city officials say that per TDOT’s notice, a total of $18.9 million in federal and state funds are no longer available for the project. WREG Investigators spoke with Knecht, whose department oversees the project locally and asked how it all fell apart.“Well, I think, you know, there’s a there’s a lot of lack of communication between TDOT and what they were trying to accomplish with their with their new planning strategy,” said Knecht.

According to figures provided to WREG by the city, it’s already spent $19.7 million in local, state and federal funds. Knecht told the NewsChannel 3 Investigators about costs for Phase 1, plus right of way acquisition, design and utility relocation for what was supposed to be the upcoming Phase 2. The WREG investigators also asked if the city wasted time and taxpayer money, by not finishing the job already.

“No. No, I mean. We, so we have active contracts with the state, right. You saw the documents. These are long commitment projects because this is not simply repaving a road.” However, the long term commitment has turned into the wait for the promise of a project and a revitalization that may no longer be a reality for the Whitehaven community. WREG asked Knecht how members of the community can trust the city and what leaders say about the project.

“It’s very frustrating and very unfortunate, you’re right,” Knecht said. “They’re going to take this as a slight to the community.” Knecht continued, “I can only apologize to the citizens down there and say, look, I’m fighting for you. I’m fighting for this. We’re going to fight for this, because we think that the city deserves it, Whitehaven deserves it, and if the state doesn’t come through, then we need to. We’ll continue to fight for it.”

Knecht says the city is waiting for TDOT to respond to a letter Mayor Paul Young sent to Commissioner Butch Eley requesting the funding be re-instated. He says if TDOT doesn’t respond or say the money isn’t available, the project will be on hold. TDOT’s 10 year plan, released in December of 2023, doesn’t include the Elvis Presley Boulevard Road Improvement Project.

In an emailed statement TDOT spokeperson Nichole Lawrence said the project was listed in a 2014 to 2016 program, but wasn’t “ready at the time for funding” so it “allocated the money to other projects.” When WREG asked specifically how much money had been reallocated from the project and placed elsewhere, Lawrence said approximately $27 million that had been allocated for the projects were returned to TDOT’s general fund after they were “not utilized.”

Knecht says the same month TDOT released its new plan, the city submitted the agency right-of-way documents and received certification.
Lawrence told WREG via email, “The 10-year project plan was publicly released December 2023. The department met with the Memphis MPO in February 2024 to discuss the plan.”

She also added, “The city can apply for the Statewide Partnership Program (SPP). The SPP is an existing program to support local authorities in maximizing funding dollars for critical local mobility and economic development needs.” In a previous statement, TDOT said its 10 year plan could change, but for projects to be considered for future funding, additional funding outside the normal sources would be required.