Tuscaloosa Leaders Cut Ribbon on $10 Million River District Pedestrian Bridge
The city of Tuscaloosa celebrated the completion of a major $10 million infrastructure project linking key parts of the growing River District downtown.
The pedestrian bridge will take walkers over Jack Warner Parkway and connect the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater and the recently-renamed Parker-Haun Park to the Saban Center coming soon to the Tuscaloosa News property.
“18 years ago, when I was sworn in, I promised to build a bridge to the future,” Mayor Walt Maddox said during the ceremony. “18 years later, that future includes nearly universal pre-K, dual-enrollment scholarships for every single 10th, 11th and 12th grader at our City schools and a higher quality of life. Today that bridge to the future includes this pedestrian bridge. It is going to provide a link between our downtown and our riverfront.”
Council President Kip Tyner also attended the ribbon-cutting and celebrated this accomplishment.
“This is going to be the busiest section of the entire City of Tuscaloosa,” Tyner said. “With The Saban Center, the amphitheater, the park, this [bridge] is so needed. I just think it’s a very proud moment for the City of Tuscaloosa and I’m just very proud that I was able to support it and work with the City Council that unanimously supported this as well.”
The $10.6 million project was approved by the city council last November and was partially funded by a $15 million federal BUILD grant that retiring US Senator Richard Shelby secured for the city in 2020.
The 5 million federal dollars set aside for the bridge would have covered most of its cost when early estimates said it would only require $6 million, but that price tag skyrocketed with the costs of labor, material and more.
The rest of the funding came from the Elevate Tuscaloosa tax plan.
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