Today is a fun day, because we're really one step closer to connecting a lot of Chattanoogans to parks and green spaces.
A tugboat turned into the narrow South Chickamauga Creek from the Tennessee River on Friday morning pushing two parts of a barge, including one that held a crucial piece of the city’s recreational future.
Then a crew unhinged the piece holding an $800,000, 190-foot bridge from the tugboat and began guiding it carefully behind three motorized fishing boats.
A smaller-scale equivalent to the scene might have been a Jet Ski floating in a backyard pool.
Workers use small outboard-motor boats to maneuver a barge carrying the South Chickamauga Creek connector bridge up the creek from the Tennessee River after it was ferried to the mouth of the creek by tugboat on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The bridge is being installed in the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway after money was raised for the project by the Trust for Public Land.
Site of connector bridge between the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway and the Tennessee Riverwalk.
Workers use small outboard-motor boats to maneuver a barge carrying the South Chickamauga Creek connector bridge up the creek from the Tennessee River after it was ferried to the mouth of the creek by tugboat on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The bridge is being installed in the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway after money was raised for the project by the Trust for Public Land.The tugboat retreated to the river and the bridge began a slow journey up the creek to its home as an integral part of the connection between the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway and the Tennessee Riverwalk. A crane lifted it into place Friday afternoon.
The one-mile stretch of the greenway that includes the bridge is expected to open in the spring.
“Today is a fun day, because we’re really one step closer to connecting a lot of Chattanoogans to parks and green spaces,” Trust for Public Land state director Rick Wood said.
The connection of the greenway and the Riverwalk is also key in the vision to bring a 270-degree arc of bicycle and pedestrian path around the city.
That plan will come to fruition with the eventual expansion of the Riverwalk to St. Elmo and the completion of the final three miles of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, which stretches to Camp Jordan in East Ridge.
The Trust for Public Land raised $2.5 million, which includes the price of the bridge, from private partners to complete the one-mile stretch of the greenway opening in the spring, and there is momentum to complete the rest of the greenway.
The Chattanooga City Council unanimously approved a request last month by the Chattanooga Department of Transportation that allows the department to seek a $774,360 state grant to help with completion of the greenway. If the grant is awarded, the city will have to put about $300,000 of its own money toward the project.
“The city of Chattanooga is a clear partner in this and a leader in this,” Wood said. “They’ll maintain this greenway, they’ll own it and steward it, they’ll secure it. It’s an incredible partnership.”
Nearly 30,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, and developing it is good for the health of the city and its people, Wood said.
“What I’m hoping is that the connector helps makes our district more attractive,” added Chattanooga resident Tiffanie Robinson, who lives in the Waterhaven neighborhood along the greenway. “I hope it helps people realize that there are neighborhoods like Waterhaven in that area, and I hope it has a big economic impact on the area.”
Robinson said she uses the South Chickamauga Creek frequently for kayaking, and she is hopeful that developing and connecting the greenway will get others in the area outdoors, too.
“They’ll have easy access to being a part of some of our great natural resources,” she said. “It’s a great thing that could really have a big impact.”
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.