Columbia’s Riverfront Park closing for 2 weeks. Here’s why
If you were planning to go for a daytime run or stroll along the river for the next couple weeks, you may have to make other plans.
Columbia’s Riverfront Park is closing on weekdays for two weeks as crews conduct maintenance work, the city Parks and Recreation Department announced on Monday.
The park will be closed beginning Tuesday, but will reopen in the evening from 5:30 to 9 p.m. after work is done for the day. Riverfront Park will also continue to be open on Saturday and Sunday.
The closure will allow Dominion Energy to remove tree stumps from the canal levee, and repair areas where trees have recently been excavated, the city said in a release. The work is necessary to maintain dam safety, the release said.
Trucks and other heavy equipment will be moving down the canal levee during the project, so there will be no access to either the canal trail or the lower trail along the river during weekdays.
The Broad River Bridge ramp into the park will also be closed to bike and pedestrian traffic, but the fitness center and restrooms will continue to be open along with the Esplanade.
Both the north entrance at 4122 River Drive and the south entrance at 312 Laurel Drive will be closed.
Granby Park further down the river will continue to operate normally during the project.
City officials said last month that Columbia is close to an agreement with FEMA for $42 million worth of repair work on the canal from damage dating back to the 2015 flood, although that work has not yet commenced. That will also allow a hydroelectric plant on the canal to get back up and running, adding an estimated 5 to 10 megawatts per day to the city’s power supply.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
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