Construction
of a critical section of Jacksonville's Northbank riverwalk
will start next month, according to city officials.
A walkway threaded between the Acosta Bridge and the
Florida East Coast rail span will link downtown to Riverside
Avenue, starting a western riverwalk extension that has been
planned for years.
City Hall has budgeted about $6 million to extend the
riverwalk from CSX Transportation to the Haskell Co., with
much of that strip defined by a square, corkscrew-like ramp
system that will lift people above train traffic.
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An artist's
rendering shows the Northbank Riverwalk extension as it
would look from under the Acosta Bridge.
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"The big
money is in here," and later western expansion will be far
cheaper, said Walt Hogrefe, an engineer manager for the city
Public Works Department.
The city's contract with Military Construction Corp. allows
300 days for construction. Some small details, including
whether to install a police stop station under the ramp
system, are still being resolved, Hogrefe said.
The walkway is intended to eventually run from Metropolitan
Park to Riverside Park.
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The new
stretch of the Riverwalk will go under the Acosta Bridge
(far right) behind the Times-Union building.
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The western
extension has been repeatedly delayed because of difficulty
negotiating unpaid easements across waterfront land. The city
still needs permission from three landowners before it can
finish the west end of the project, said Public Works Director
Lynn Westbrook.
Work on the eastern portion of the walkway is also under
way.
The developers of Berkman Plaza apartment and condominium
complex are mostly finished building a section east of Liberty
Street, Hogrefe said. The company developing the Shipyards
residential and commercial complex will build a section of the
walk across its property as well. City engineers are reviewing
design plans for the Shipyards section now, Hogrefe said.
Staff writer Steve Patterson can be reached at (904)
359-4263 or at spattersonjacksonville.com.
