A long-awaited new portion of the Tennessee Riverwalk that will connect Ross's Landing to the South Broad Street district is nearing completion with a tentatively scheduled grand opening date of Aug. 12.
Nearly all of the $11.6 million extension is finished, but crews are still working on a section that runs behind PSC Metals, midway through the new 3.5-mile stretch of the popular walking and bicycling path.
Officials hoped earlier in the year that the new section would open in June, after initial projections that it would be completed in the spring.
Hamilton County Parks and Recreation director Tom Lamb said Thursday the Aug. 12 grand opening date also could be subject to change, based on construction progress.
"As you can imagine, there have been quite a few things to button up and finish up," he said. "We wish people were able to use it now. There's such an excitement. There's a lot of interest that's been generated."
Curious bicyclists, walkers and runners have been spotted on completed portions of the new section throughout the spring and summer, despite "No trespassing" signs dispersed intermittently along the route.
The new section of the Riverwalk skirts the edges of several industrial sites and runs close to a railroad line in several places. Lamb said that gaining the necessary approvals from the railroad owners and Tennessee Department of Transportation for the path's many railroad crossings has been a slow process.
Crews are still detailing the picnic shelters, pavilions and restrooms along the path, as well, he said.
Valarie Adams, a Red Bank resident who works on Riverfront Parkway, took a walk on the section running behind the Cameron Harbor development early Thursday afternoon.
"It's very convenient for me to get in some quick exercise at lunch," she said. "It's made it so convenient that there's really no excuse. I just have to walk across the street."
When officially complete, the new section will be part of a growing network of urban trails connecting Chattanooga neighborhoods.
Chattanooga's City Council voted recently to allow the city's transportation office to pursue grant funding for a potential greenway to connect the Alton Park neighborhood to the Riverwalk. This spring, a connection between the Riverwalk and the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway opened.
The new piece of the Riverwalk will end at Middle Street, near Crust Pizza, for now. Next year, work will begin to connect it to the St. Elmo neighborhood village area.
"This is going to be a pretty good link," Lamb said, "and when the next phase goes into St. Elmo, I think you're going to see a lot of people commute from that area to downtown. It's going to be a much easier route than going up and down Broad Street."
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.