The Commercial Dispatch
Friday, March 19, 1999

Federal Programs Director George Irby crosses a stream on a bridge made from an old Reuben's Fish House sign while City Engineer Joey Hudnall and Chris Chain wait. Thursday afternoon the three were among a group who walked the path of a proposed walkway along the river.

Leaders pushing walkway project
Proposed pedestrian path, modeled on Chattanooga's, would connect lock and dam with Riverside Park

By Gregg Mayer
Dispatch Staff Writer

Columbus federal programs director George Irby was sprawled out in the grass Thursday afternoon, hands behind his head, catching his breath in the shade underneath the Highway 82 bridge.

Irby and a few companions had just battled their way through almost a mile of thick, thorny brush, above-the-heel deep mud and two slippery creek banks along the Tennessee-Tombigbee River.

But Irby has a plan for that unrealized path. He sees Columbus' future.

"If you can visualize this, then you can see it work," Irby said. "We have to make people visualize it."

Irby is one of several city officials spearheading a 1.3 million concrete walkway project along the Tennessee-Tombigbee River, connecting Riverside Park to the Highway 82 Bridge. On Thursday morning, Columbus Councilmen approved applying for a federal grant to fund the project, barely beating the application deadline on Friday.

"This is something to add to our City that everyone can benefit from," Irby said.

Taking a cue from the Riverwalk in Chattanooga, Tenn., city leaders, like Irby, think a walkway along the Tenn-Tom will enhance local economic development. In Chattanooga, the Riverwalk was the impetus behind a multi-million dollar downtown aquarium.

The walkway will also provide a place for the community to see progress being made in an otherwise, as some might say, stagnant area. Chief Operations Officer Jack Marshall said since he left Columbus back in the 1960s, he hasn't seen much change in his native city. He added the walkway is a "golden opportunity" to utilize one of Columbus' greatest assets: the river.

Only one Columbus Councilman, Chuck Weldon, voted against the project, explaining he thinks city money could be better spent on other projects: a new police station; drainage and road repairs.

Lowndes County supervisors, who attended a specially called meeting on Thursday morning to discuss the grant application, hesitated to support the walkway, saying they need more time to think it over and consider the costs. Columbus Councilmen are hoping the supervisors will jump on board to help foot the requisite 20-percent matching costs.

The TEA-21 grant, which can only be used for certain transportation-oriented projects, is a six-year statewide $21 million grant program. Any Mississippi municipality or county in the state can apply for a portion of the money. To receive the grant, recipients must incur 20 percent of the costs for the project - roughly $275,000 in the case of the concrete walkway.

Irby said most of the City's share can come with in-kind services. He added even if the supervisors decline to participate, the City can still afford the project. However, city officials passed a separate resolution on Thursday not allowing any funds be dispersed without the county's support, indicating Columbus may back out of the grant even if it is awarded.
Main Street Columbus, Inc., a downtown revitalization organization, has committed to fund-raising for the project to help with the City's share, said David Sanders, president of the organization.

"This is something we need to do," said Sanders, who has lived in Chattanooga and recently led two expeditions to show-off the Riverwalk to Columbus and Lowndes County officials. "This (walkway) will enhance our community so much."

The proposed walkway, most of it along the riverbank, will be a lighted two-mile trail connecting to an already existing nature walk leading to the Columbus lock & Dam. The 10-foot-wide concrete walkway will be illuminated with specially constructed waterproof lights.

Benches will be interspersed every 1,000 feet or so, said city engineer Joey Hudnall. Trees and shrubs will be planted to accent the walkway.

Through not all of the county supervisors have committed to the project, board president J.L. Williams said he thinks it is a good idea because of the health benefits a walkway will provide.

"I break all the rules as far as all physical fitness," Williams said, noting he doesn't workout and he smokes. But since his 47-year-old brother recently suffered a heart attack, Williams explained he has come to realize the importance of staying healthy.

"I would like to see us support this," Williams told other supervisors. "I know I can vote for it."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state highway department have already given their support, said Dell Coward, county engineer. The City will be granted easements along the river to construct the walkway.

But several questions still have to be answered before Lowndes County supervisor Leroy Brooks will offer his support.

"Who is going to pay the light bill?" Brooks asked Thursday. "Who will maintain it in case of vandals. What happens if someone goes out there and knocks down a light?

"It could almost be like another Luxapalila deal," he added, referencing to the Luxapalila Creek Park which has been run-down and unused because of vandalism.

Irby responded that the city and county will have sufficient time to answer the questions because even if the project is approved for the grant, it will be almost two years before construction begins.

"If you don't ask for the money, other cities will get it," Irby said. "Now, we have an opportunity to get the money here. If you don't apply, your money will be going to other towns for them to enjoy."