New Memphis attraction sets opening date

Wendy Guzmán | Memphis Business Journal

A new Memphis tourist attraction is opening next month.

The Memphis Flyway, located on Tom Lee Park’s south end, is scheduled to open on June 12.

The 218-foot-long observation deck will allow visitors to overlook the Mississippi River. The deck will also be ADA-accessible.

The observation deck is expected to have over 1 million visitors annually.

The Memphis Flyway is located at the midpoint of the park between the I-55 Memphis & Arkansas Bridge and the I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge, where Ashburn-Coppock Park begins.

The project was announced by the Memphis River Parks Partnership (MRPP) in June 2024. It was anticipated to cost $10.4 million. At the time, the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund approved $4.35 million in funds, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration provided a grant of $3.7 million for the project.

The Memphis Flyway was designed by the architectural design groups Studio Gang, which is based in Chicago, and SCAPE, which is based in New York City. Those firms also created the design for Tom Lee Park’s renovation, which opened in 2023.

The project is being built by Memphis-based Montgomery Martin Contractors, which was also the general contractor on Tom Lee Park's $61 million redesign.