The Passage, a downtown water attraction that closed more than two years ago, quietly reopened to the public Tuesday after $1.6 million worth of design and repairs were completed.
City workers removed three fences surrounding the feature early in the morning, in what city spokesman Richard Beeland called "a very soft opening."
The Passage originally opened in May 2005 and cost about $2 million, according to Chattanooga Times Free Press archives, but safety concerns prompted officials to close the attraction in 2008.
Repair work has been going on for more than a year, with several opening date delays.
"It's taken awhile, but it's been done right," Steve Leach, city public works administrator, said. "We didn't want to hurry it and not do it correctly."
Becky Chapin, who has lived in Chattanooga for 40 years, said the attraction looks just as she remembered it before it closed.
"It was beautiful. I loved it," Ms. Chapin said as she walked through the Passage on Tuesday. "I was sorry they had to close it."
Work included replacing some of the wall tiles, which had begun to crack and fall in 2008, installing hand rails and repairing electrical grounding problems in the attraction's light fixtures, Mr. Leach said.
ABOUT THE PASSAGEThe Passage is one of the elements of the $120 million 21st Century Waterfront project. Running under Riverfront Parkway, the Passage is intended to help pedestrians connect with the river while also commemorating the Trail of Tears, the 1838 forced removal of the Cherokee Indians to the West.PASSAGE OF TIME* May 2005 -- The Passage, along with 21st Century Waterfront, opens.* April 2008 -- After falling wall tiles and electrical problems, the Passage is closed and fenced off.* May 2008 -- A study is approved to remedy problems with the Passage.* February 2009 -- Repair work starts.* April 2010 -- Passage reopens.Source: Newspaper archives
Though originally meant as a reflective area, the water-filled feature quickly became an interactive attraction with people, especially children, wading into the water. To address the situation, the city decided to make the Passage's wading pool shallower to meet state standards.
During the repair work, conduits for an eventual sound system also were added, though the project did not include installation of any equipment for such as system, said Gary Hilbert, director of the city land development office.
"That will come at a later date and it will probably have to be private money that will develop the sound system and any kind of programming to go along with it," he said.
Changes to the area are subtle and keep with the attraction's purpose of commemorating Cherokee Indian history, Mr. Leach said.
"We've gotten it back to a point where it is a very safe, enjoyable community resource," he said. "It's back to where it should have been from the beginning."
To recoup the money for the repairs, the city filed a lawsuit against the project's original overseer, The RiverCity Co.; the Passage's architects, Hargreaves Associates Inc.; and contractor Continental Construction Co.
The suit sparked a counterclaim from the defendants, who said the city didn't give adequate time to fix structural and code problems. Assistant city attorney Crystal Freiberg said the suit is still in the discovery phase and is not scheduled for trial at this time.
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Article: Chattanooga: The Passage reopens after 2 years