The work at the Knoxville Zoo consisted of a new front gate, administration building, gift shop, restrooms, storage buildings and parking areas. The project was complicated by unsuitable soil and contaminated soil. Several of the buildings were constructed on H-piles. Merit worked closely with Zoo staff to coordinate construction work around exotic animals. Rolling road blocks were required on the adjacent interstate during blasting for foundations.

Merit Construction also completed the Kid's Cove play area at the zoo. Kid's Cove is located in the site of the zoo's old front entrance and gift shop and features a new learning and play area, more interactive exhibits and a new contact yard. Kids Cove is based loosely on life in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the 1800s. 

"My congratulations to all at Merit Construction for the fine end result achieved by the completion of Knoxville Zoo's new entrance. Merit Construction's staff worked hard and long to complete the project on time and within our budget. The nature of this project was, undoubtedly, unusual and difficult. Building a number of structures concurrently on a site that was, in itself, filled with surprises added to the difficulty and complexity of this project. Adding the fact that many hundreds of thousands of zoo visitors still received a high quality experience at the zoo while all this work went on is testimonial to the efforts of Merit managers, crews and sub-contractors. Many obstacles appeared along the way and many were worked through and solved due to the creative and professional efforts of the staff at Merit. We appreciate the high quality end result of our partnership and look forward to working with Merit Construction, Inc. in the future."
- Jim Vlna, Executive Director, Knoxville Zoo

Designed by Johnson Architecture
www.jainc.com

Designed by Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon
www.bargewaggoner.com