NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Five years after a Christmas morning bombing forever changed one of Nashville's most historic streets, Second Avenue has finally reopened to full vehicle traffic.
The recovery has taken its toll on local businesses struggling to stay open while the road remained closed. But Monday brought welcome news for Second Avenue merchants and visitors. "It's the biggest news in town right now," said Chris Hallett, general manager of Nashville Souvenirs.
We met Hallett as he stood outside of his store on Second Avenue, working to recruit customers to walk inside. They've decided that having someone on the sidewalk to announce their sales is crucial to staying open. "All these businesses, all based on traffic," Hallett said.
Hallett says a big reason for the struggle has been that vehicles haven't been able to drive all the way down Second Avenue since the bombing. "Having it blocked off for so long made it feel like there wasn't anything going on," Hallett said. "It's like y'all — can we just have the street back? Can we just have Nashville feel like it's alive and happening again?"
The street has been either completely or partially closed since early Christmas morning 2020, when a bomb detonated outside the AT&T data building. The explosion killed only the perpetrator, who was targeting the AT&T Data Center, a telecommunications facility, but the damage was extensive.
Even five years later, plywood still covers many windows, and some historic buildings in the epicenter of the blast remain practically untouched.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell acknowledged the frustratingly slow recovery process for business owners. "This is hard, and you can see, if you go up the block to the point of greatest impact. Some of this was truly devastating," O'Connell said.
The mayor explained that property owners may still be fighting with insurance companies to resolve claims, and the city cannot force them to rebuild.
O'Connell said considerable time was also needed to repair damage that wasn't visible. "We completely redid all of the water infrastructure underground, too, because this was something that was old and needed to be modernized," O'Connell said.
Finally, on Monday, Christmas came early for Second Avenue business owners as barricades were removed and traffic could once again flow from one end of the street to the other.
As part of the recovery, sidewalks have been widened as well. "Makes it feel a lot more friendly and open, and like there's something happening all the time," Hallett said.
For Hallett, he's hoping the reopening means many more customers will finally walk through his doors.
Another milestone is planned for February, when the AT&T data building will receive nighttime lighting so people can see a mural of Phil Ponder's artwork. The mural depicts in life-size scale what Second Avenue originally looked like.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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