Chad Smith, with Erosion Solutions, taps in posts while working on erosion control Monday off of Riverfront Parkway on Monday near M.L. King Boulevard. The Tennessee Riverwalk will be extended in the area.
A crew works on erosion control Monday near the planned extension of the Riverwalk trail off Riverfront Parkway near M.L. King Boulevard.After months of delay, crews began Monday to clear away trees and dig ditches to stop erosion along Riverfront Parkway for the 3-mile Tennessee Riverwalk extension.
Planners said the project will take 18 months and offer a path for bikers and joggers along the Tennessee River behind Riverfront Parkway's multiple industrial parks to cut through the U.S. Pipe and Wheland Foundry site and connect to St. Elmo Avenue.
The extension will give St. Elmo residents a direct path to downtown and eventually connect the Riverwalk to the Incline Railway.
"The restaurants, the shops, the business district, the neighborhood and St. Elmo as a whole I think will greatly benefit from this riverwalk," said Commissioner Joe Graham, who represents St. Elmo and downtown in District 6.
The $11.6 million construction project -- $6.8 million from state and federal grants, $3.1 million from private donations and $1.7 million from city and county taxpayers -- was expected to start in the spring but was delayed because of engineering issues and property acquisition. About 10 corporate easements or agreements had to be acquired to construct the path.
Construction will include clearing trees, erecting proper lighting, pouring 12-feet-wide concrete sidewalks, landscaping and installing benches, restrooms and several gazebos, said Todd Leamon, Hamilton County Public Works administrator. The project also will include three new parking areas near Chestnut Street, at the foundry site and near St. Elmo Avenue where the current project ends at Middle Street, he said.
Meanwhile, planners will use about $550,000 set aside for the next phase to design the long-talked-about project to connect to the Incline Railway. Graham said his hope is when the Riverwalk is complete to St. Elmo Avenue in February 2016 that crews will immediately began construction on the next phase.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.
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