BREAKING NEWS: Low-water bridge across Roanoke River at Wasena Park to be replaced
A development that City of Roanoke Engineer Phil Schirmer says will be a “boon to Roanoke’s outdoor-based economy,” the low-water bridge separating Wasena and Smith Parks will be replaced with a new pre-cast concrete bridge with 3 wide and tall openings to permit kayak/canoe passage and allow fish to migrate upstream.
The $850,000 project is part of a private-public partnership relying on the work, expertise and funding from several entities: the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Fish America Foundation, the USDA, FORVA and the Float Fishermen of Virginia and the City of Roanoke.
Yesterday, Roanoke City Council approved a measure providing the last $100,000 for the project–part of the City’s contribution came from stimulus funds made available for local projects under the Recovery Act.
For Schirmer, this has been a ten year vision. Originally part of the Roanoke River Flood Reduction project, the effort to remove the low-water bridge was tabled until the City began aggressively pursuing a private-public partnership six or seven months ago as a way of making the project happen. While there are still contractual details to be ironed out, construction on the project will begin in early October and continue through the winter. Schirmer predicts (with hope) that the project will be completed by March 15, 2010.
The current low-water obstruction isn’t really a “bridge,” says Schirmer, but a “bunch of pipes covered in concrete.”
Earlier this year, Friends of the Roanoke River reported that last of the concrete-encased sewage conduit was removed from the River just east of the Memorial Avenue Bridge near the future Hannah Court park. Today’s news marks the third major river rehabilitation project in the last year (source: Friends of the Roanoke River). A local contractor Hammond-Mitchell, based in Covington, Virginia, has negotiated an agreement with the Fish America Foundation to construct the new bridge.
Obviously, the bridge will be closed during construction–blocking a stretch of the Roanoke River Greenway. However, the net benefit to the local economy and the health of the Roanoke River is arguably worth the wait.
The Roanoke Times stock photo of the low-water bridge to be removed:
Copyright The Roanoke Times