If you walk the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge from downtown to the East Bank, how will you get off the bridge on the far side next year? Over the next few years the answer moves away from the elevator and stairs you know and toward Wasioto Park, the 6.5-acre park between the bridge and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Nearly every headline about the bridge has covered the big piece. In September, WKRN reported that the East Bank Development Authority approved up to $75 million for an extension of more than 700 feet toward the new stadium and the planned TPAC campus. That work is real, but it's years away. The project that affects your crossing first is smaller, and it starts next month.
Two Projects That Get Talked About as One
The first project is the Seigenthaler Bridge Connector. Metro's Q1 2026 East Bank quarterly report says the structure will meet the existing bridge "just west of the existing elevator and land within Wasioto Park." Its earlier working name was the Greenway Connector. The Fallon Company led the early design effort with Field Operations and Barge Design Solutions. The Nashville Post describes it as an accessible link for pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities, with Reeves Young as general contractor and Barge as architect.
The second project is the longer extension behind the $75 million figure. WKRN puts it at a minimum width of 35 feet, running toward the stadium and the TPAC campus. The Tennessee Titans' construction team will design and build it, and Metro and the EBDA will oversee the work. Metro's April report also describes a phased Music City Mile Pedestrian Structure. It starts just east of the existing elevator and eventually lands on the west side of South 2nd Street, with Phase 1 running from the bridge to the east side of the existing 1st Street. That report schedules its phases on a longer timeline than WKRN's extension dates, and the reporting doesn't say outright how the two descriptions line up.
So one structure branches west from the elevator and down into the park. The other runs east from the elevator toward the stadium district. The order they're built in is the part that matters for your walk.
The Sequence Is the Plan
Metro's report says plainly why the Connector comes first. Building it quickly matters "to ensure bike and pedestrian access to the East Bank remains available while other construction projects take place in the vicinity." It also sets a firm condition: "Demolition of the existing eastern approach would not begin until the Seigenthaler Bridge Connector is completed."
Here's the order, using the most recent dates in the reporting:
- This November: Connector construction is expected to start, according to WKRN's September 23, 2026 report. The EBDA's August 25 board packet also lists a November start.
- February 2027: the new stadium's target opening, per Metro's April report.
- End of 2027: Connector work is expected to wrap up, per WKRN. Metro's April report set a looser target of late 2027 or early 2028, so plan around a range rather than a single date.
- First quarter of 2028: demolition for the extension is expected to begin.
- Fall 2029: the extension's target completion.
Officials told WKRN they want people to be able to cross the river on foot throughout construction, though temporary closures could be needed for deliveries or certain kinds of work. None of the reporting includes a closure calendar or a detour map yet, so for now the dates of any short-term closures are unknown.
The Connector also sets the look for everything after it. WKRN reports that it will establish the lighting and handrail standards the larger extension will follow. The railings and lights that go up next year are a preview of the rest of the bridge's east end.
Where You Land: Wasioto Park
If the plan holds, by the time the old approach comes down, the main way off the bridge on the East Bank will lead into Wasioto Park. That makes the park's condition more important than it has been in years.
The park opened in 2012 as Cumberland Park. On December 3, 2024, Metro Parks approved the Indigenous Peoples Coalition's request to rename it Wasioto Park. The city identifies Wasioto as the original Shawnee name of the Cumberland River. The park sits at 592 South First Street, and Metro lists elevator and stair access to the bridge. Its features include children's play areas called The Hollow, The Scoops and The Gorge, a crushed-stone Explorer Trail, and an outdoor amphitheater that holds about 1,200 people. The park is open from dawn to 11 p.m.
The water features have a less certain history. In July 2025, the Nashville Banner reported that they had been out since 2020. Metro's park page, last updated in September 2025, still says the sprayground is closed for repairs to its mechanical vault. Neither source confirms its condition this fall. Metro's parks closure page, updated October 7, 2026, doesn't list Wasioto Park.
The planning documents point toward investment in the park. The EBDA's April presentation lists enhancements at Wasioto as a capital priority and says Metro Planning and Metro Parks will plan changes to the park so the ramp fits in. By the August board meeting, the task order for a Wasioto Park assessment had been finalized, with work set to begin the following month. The assessment's recommendations haven't been published yet.
What Rises Around the Landing
The view from the ramp will change about as fast as the ramp gets built. Here's what is scheduled near the bridge's east end:
| Project | Location relative to the bridge | Reported timing |
|---|---|---|
| New stadium | East Bank, Central Waterfront district | Opening targeted for February 2027 |
| TPAC East Bank campus | Parcel E, adjacent to the bridge | Construction start late 2026 or early 2027 |
| Eastpoint Flats | Parcel G, across Shelby Avenue from the stadium | Projected completion Q1 2029 |
| Bridge extension | East toward the stadium and TPAC campus | Completion targeted for fall 2029, per WKRN |
In May, WSMV reported that once the current stadium is demolished, its site is expected to become a waterfront park. Metro's June presentation listed improvements to Wasioto Park and a River North Greenway among the open-space projects expected by February 2030. The August packet says design services for an East Bank Park were being procured. Wasioto is the first of those spaces you'll actually walk through, and if the schedules hold, it gets there years before the others.
Street closures are already part of the walk on the East Bank side. The stadium construction updates page shows Russell Street between 2nd Avenue and Interstate Drive closed through mid-2027, along with 2nd Avenue between Russell Street and Victory Way. A path for pedestrians and cyclists stays open, though the page doesn't map its exact route.
This Saturday on Both Ends
October 10 is a good example of a busy day around the bridge. On the downtown side, the Downtown Nashville Makers' Market sets up at Riverfront Park, 150 4th Ave. N., beneath the pedestrian bridge. Nashville Downtown Partnership runs it on the second Saturday of each month, so the next one after this weekend would be November 14. On the East Bank side, Metro's weekly closure report lists stadium event closures on South 1st Street, Russell Street, Titans Way and Victory Avenue from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Farther down the river, Metro's greenway project list reports that a 0.12-mile boardwalk around Ascend Amphitheater was completed in the second quarter of 2026. It's meant to keep the Cumberland River Greenway open during events. The page lists a last update of May 1, so it's worth checking the boardwalk's status for yourself before you count on it.
A Bridge That Has Changed Before
The bridge itself has been through bigger changes than this one. It opened in 1909 as the Sparkman Street Bridge at an estimated cost of $475,000. It was later called the Shelby Street Bridge, closed to traffic in 1998, reopened to pedestrians in 2003, and was named for journalist and Nashville native John Seigenthaler in 2014. WKRN notes it was the first bridge in North America with concrete arched trusses.
The current plan follows the same thinking as the 2003 reopening, which kept the river crossing in use. The new ramp into Wasioto Park is scheduled to open before the old East Bank approach is demolished.
If you live downtown and are watching the East Bank take shape from your side of the river, I'm glad to talk through how these timelines line up with your building, your block, or your plans over the next few years. Brock Daniel Mixon is always happy to share what he's following on the riverfront. Let's Connect.
