Expected completion of riverwalk project is early next year
By Ann M. Tabb
atabb@ebicom.net

Riverwalk organizers will address the negative views of Columbus citizens involving the safety and maintenance concerns on the $1.3 million project as construction begins along the Tennessee-Tombigbee.

"The riverwalk is not just for the downtown, it is for the entire community," said local attorney David Sanders, who is chairing the committee that is supervising the project.

"People will be able to walk, run or jog from Columbus Lock & Dam to downtown Columbus," Sanders said. "There will be areas where there will be overlooks and sitting areas. It will just be a wonderful way to get away from the humdrum to bike with your children."

Sanders said the goal of the adhoc group is to facilitate the design and implementation of the project and coordinate the administrative efforts of Columbus and Lowndes County officials.

The project was not without opposition from Columbus City Councilman Chuck Weldon, now deceased, and dissenting votes by Lowndes County Supervisors Leroy Brooks and Joe Brooks.

Joe Brooks in past reports particularly expressed concerns that the riverwalk would create a haven for "drug heads" and a "home for the homeless people."

The riverside park's concrete walk - named by its detractors as the "underwater walkway" - has also been a subject of heated debate in Columbus.

Sanders is aware of criticism of the project by some residents.
"Maintenance will not be a major effort or a problem, since the walk is designed to be submersed under water. Either the city or county will maintain the park," he said.

As for security, he said the area will be well-lit, with telephones spaced along the walkway.

Designed by the engineering firm Neel-Schaffer Inc., the four mile, 10-foot wide concrete walk is modeled after trails in Columbus, Ga., and Phenix City, Ala., which are separate projects facing each other across the Chattahoochee River.

The design of the Chattanooga, Tenn., overlook was also used as a model for the Columbus project.

"All three of those projects require virtually no maintenance or security and are used much more than original estimates of the projects projected," Sanders said.

City Engineer Joey Hudnall of the Neel-Schaffer engineering firm said that planning for the riverwalk project should wrap up and move into the construction stage, with the plans to be presented to the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

"After we get their blessing, we will let for bids on all the concrete, electrical work and the outlooks - everything that will be involved in the project," Hudnall said.

Hudnall said that the project's completion date will be affected by many factors such as the weather, but the riverwalk should be complete sometime in early 2003.

Sanders said that the group will communicate with Hudnall and local citizens during the construction.

"We are going to address the negative issues that are surrounding the project by keeping the public involved," he said. "We are going to keep the public informed what is going on in stages."

The committee will be open for constructive, positive suggestions for the program from the public.

"If there is a big demand for some things." We will definitely try to get that done," he said. "But we can't make any promises"

As proposed, the riverwalk will connect Riverside Park to the U.S. 82 bridge, and from there it will link up with the Army Corps of Engineers' nature trail from the Stennis Lock & Dam Park.

Twenty percent matching grants from the city of Columbus and Lowndes County will split the costs of the project over two budget years.

Costs for the project have also been hotly debated and many detractors argue that the money could be put to use elsewhere in the city.

"If we don't use the funds for beautification projects, some other municipality will," Sanders said.

The money "cannot be used for streets, it cannot be used for potholes. If the federal government is going to give us 80 cents for every 20 cents we put up, that is a good deal," he said.

"Plus, it is economic development. Just go out to the hospital and see the number of people out on the walking trails," he said.