Tuscaloosa Mayor Gives Update On $21.5M Western Riverwalk Project

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Friday provided an update on the highly-anticipated $21.5 million Western Riverwalk, which will aim to boost walkability and better connect the city's ever-changing and expanding downtown.

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Apart from the $5.5 million Northern Riverwalk initiative, the projects for the Western Riverwalk will be broken up into four phases. Work is expected to begin next summer on phase one, with a 1,000-foot extension of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk from the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater heading West.

From there, the mayor pointed out that the extension will connect with the portion of path that will be built as part of the Martin Luther King Jr./Jack Warner Parkway project.

Phase one will be made possible through a $400,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

The second phase, Maddox said, will see a pedestrian bridge constructed over Jack Warner Parkway, which will then connect the future $7.5 million River District Park to downtown, along with the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater and the Saban Center.

The mayor then said construction on phase two should begin by next winter, which will follow the completion of River District Park. The new park project is not included in the $21.5 million budget for the Western Riverwalk.

Work on the new River District Park is set to begin in November.

"Phases three and four will require extensive work and approvals with the United States Army Corps of Engineers," Maddox explained in his Mayor's Minute on Friday. "Frankly, this will be a time consuming process. But, once all the permissions and approvals are granted, we look forward to beginning construction on the last two phases."

Maddox said phase three will consist of The Black Warrior River Barge Moorings project — an effort aimed at relocating barges away from the lock wall. He then said the final portion of the Western Riverwalk trail, which will run across the current Tuscaloosa Country Club property, will also see a trailhead constructed around the old lock wall.

Apart from the ADECA grant, funding for the Western Riverwalk will be made possible by the following revenue sources: A $15 million Build Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, $5.7 million from Elevate Tuscaloosa and $350,000 in other funds coming directly from city coffers.

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