MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Construction on phase two of a multimillion-dollar makeover of Elvis Presley Boulevard was supposed to start this summer, but new financial concerns have emerged that could put the entire project in jeopardy.

Elvis Presley Boulevard is in the midst of a $42.5 million road improvement project. Crews completed construction on the first phase, from Brooks to Winchester, in 2021.

“I hear from business owners, residents of Whitehaven, that this is the worst street in Memphis,” said William Pilot, owner of Pilot’s Taxes and Bookkeeping Services on Elvis Presley. “I feel like Whitehaven has been mistreated and neglected. I mean, the things that we were told they didn’t happen.”

The entire project covers nearly three miles from Brooks Road to Shelby Drive and includes widening lanes, adding lighting and landscaping and making it more pedestrian friendly.

But a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Transportation said recently that TDOT hasn’t seen plans from the city for phases two or three, and the city was still acquiring right of way for the second phase.

The agency now confirms the Elvis Presley Boulevard isn’t included its 10-year plan and its approximately $27 million in funding for the project.

In emailed statement, TDOT stated, “The projects were listed in the 2014-2016 3 Year Comprehensive Multimodal Program, but the development of these Local Program projects was not ready at the time for funding. Therefore, the funding was allocated to other projects.”

When asked where TDOT moved the funding and if it was allocated to another project, the spokesperson said the money had been moved back to the general fund. 

Elvis Presley Boulevard, which runs in front of Elvis’ Graceland home, serves as a greeting for tourists and  a major highway connecting commerce and commuters, but the road that is the namesake of the King looks anything but royal these days.

WREG has spent years uncovering and exposing previous delays with the project. The city estimated construction on the first phase would begin in 2017, though it didn’t actually start until two years later.

Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht says it’s a complex issue.

Elvis Presley Boulevard is a state road, but the city is managing the project, which also includes federal dollars. He says there’s right of way acquisition, environmental studies, funding, then construction.

“We have always communicated this is a long, very long-term project, from the moment construction started, it was going to take us multiple years,” explained Knecht.

He said during an interview in January that contruction would likely wrap up at the end of this decade, in 2030.

But since the start of the project, costs have gone up due to inflation, Knecht confirmed.

“A lot of that money has been wasted through inflation, so waiting is not an answer,” said Pilot.

Speaking of money, Knecht told WREG at the time, the city had yet to come up with financing for the last and longest phase of the project, an estimated $25 to 30 million.

Knecht said the rest would have to come through the state and federal sources again.

Charles Jackson is the owner of Blades Barbershop and Styles which sits in a shopping plaza along Elvis Presley Boulevard.

He thinks the road should be a priority given its proximity to Graceland.

“It’s not hard, if you do the math, 600,000 tourists patronize this area, it shouldn’t be hard to find funding,” said Jackson. “The second most visited house other than the White House, why wouldn’t you invest in that?”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young wrote a letter to TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley about the matter.

WREG obtained a copy of a letter, dated May 20, which also addressed a funding loss for a project on Plough Boulevard Access Road.

It read in part, “We are asking that funding for these projects be immediately re-evaluated and reinstated. The two projects have a long-standing history and TDOT officially committed to fund the two projects, which is reflected in the contracts and past correspondence with the state. Both projects have made significant process, with Elvis Presley Blvd. … ready to go to construction this
summer…”

The letter continued, “We cannot express enough the importance of these projects for the City of Memphis, the community, and the State of Tennessee as these projects will have both substantial economic impact and improve the safety of the roadways. We are asking for your support to reconsider funding priority to these two projects.”

WREG spoke to Knecht again, specifically about the funding loss. He said they just learned the funding wouldn’t be available, calling it a shock.

“We we’re having these conversations with TDOT and getting reassurance that Elvis Presley Boulevard because it’s a locally managed project, it wasn’t affected by this new 10-year plan,” said Knecht.

He continued, “So we were glad to hear that, obviously, but we just wanted to be assured of that and it wasn’t until earlier this month, we finally received notice from TDOT that, oh, well, Elvis Presley Boulevard is not funded, actually. So that was quite a shock to us.”

Knecht said the city invested in right of way acquisition, design and utility relocation for the second phase of the project and wouldn’t have done so if they’d known the project was no longer going to be funded.

He said they are waiting on TDOT’s response to the mayor’s letter.

When asked about its response to the requests outlined in the letter, TDOT Regional Communications Officer Nichole Lawrence said by email, “For those projects to move forward in the next 10 years, additional funding would have to come from sources outside of our normal formula dollars or the TMA, both of which are 100% allotted in the plan. Our 10-yr plan is just that, a plan and it can be changed if additional funding becomes available.”

Lawrence continued, “Any projects not included in the plan will be listed as ‘awaiting funding’ and will be reconsidered every year.”