Tuscaloosa Begins Plans to Add Almost 2 Miles to Northern Riverwalk

The city of Tuscaloosa is moving forward on plans to add almost two miles to the walking trail at its Northern Riverwalk, which will eventually link with the longer southern trail via the then six-laned Woolsey Finnell bridge.

During a meeting of the Public Projects Committee of the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday, Clint Bradford with the Office of the City Engineer presented a proposed agreement with McGiffert and Associates, LLC for professional services work on Phase II of the Northern Riverwalk.

This expansion will take the walking path from its current terminus in Randall Park to a pedestrian bridge over North River, which will be added during the already underway expansion of McWright's Ferry Road.

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The committee recommended approving the almost $750,000 agreement with McGiffert, which Bradford said would include topographical surveys, acquisition of permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers, preliminary and final design of the protect and more.

If adopted next week by the full city council, Bradford said this 11-month part of the project could wrap up in Summer 2025, with construction of the new Phase II finished in Spring 2026.

Early plans call for the addition of 1.8 miles of 12-foot-wide asphalt walking trail, six pedestrian bridges, lighting and security cameras, similar to what is already in place on the main and Western Riverwalks.

"It's really exciting to be able to work toward Phase II of this," said Norman Crow, the councilman who represents north Tuscaloosa. "I know the public and my District have really enjoyed the Northern Riverwalk Phase I."

The long-term vision for the Riverwalk is to connect all three existing pieces, joining the Western Riverwalk to the original path past the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater and meeting the new Northern section via the McFarland Boulevard bridge.

For more coverage of this and other Elevate Tuscaloosa projects, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.