Elvis Presley Blvd. Is Getting A $43 Million Makeover

Above, Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tourists have found Elvis Presley Blvd. to be a run-down street for years.

The Huffington Post reported all that is about to change:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The road to Graceland is not a pretty sight. At least not yet. 

Elvis Presley Boulevard leads hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to Graceland, the late rock 'n' roll icon's Memphis mansion, and to the exhibits across the street. Tourists exit off Interstate 55 and cruise through a mile's worth of empty businesses, vacant lots, crooked utility poles, crumbling sidewalks, poor lighting and drab landscaping.

Here's what the city fathers of Memphis, Tennessee are doing:

To make the road more welcoming for tourists and more pleasant for residents of the working- and middle-class community of Whitehaven just past Graceland, the city has begun making a series of infrastructure improvements. Workers already have widened and repaved one main intersection and plan to do the same to several others. 

Officials say they believe the planned improvements to utilities, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, signs and lighting — plus new artwork at intersections and along the road — will impress tourists, lure new businesses, improve pedestrian and traffic safety, and better the quality of life in Whitehaven.

The $43 million project is expected to be completed in 2016 or 2017. Once done, tourists can say, "Thank you. Thank you very much."

To read more, go here.