The single-largest expansion of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk is now open along a 1-mile stretch of the Black Warrior River in West Tuscaloosa.
With members of the Stillman College Blue Pride Marching Band on hand, the ribbon for the Western Riverwalk addition to the city’s multi-use recreational trail was “cut” Thursday, May 2, 2024, when five students from Oakdale Elementary ran through it.
“We believe in West Tuscaloosa,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, “and we believe in West Tuscaloosa’s endless opportunities for the future.”
Funded primarily with the aid of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development” (BUILD) grant program, the mayor said this $12 million segment of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk was the most expensive and “by far the best” section of the citywide trail.
He also thanked TTL and Regional Civil Design Leader Chris Crawford, PE, for helping guide what he described as a “complicated” project to completion.
“You’ve done a fantastic job and today certainly is evidence of the work you put in,” Maddox said.
In 2019, the City of Tuscaloosa chose TTL to conduct the engineering and design-related services for the Western Riverwalk expansion. Since then, we have performed the planning, survey, environmental, and civil design services needed for construction to begin.
Once construction got underway last year, TTL’s team of professionals oversaw the construction administration and construction materials engineering and testing for the duration of the project.
But projects along river edges are never simple, and Crawford along with Bradley Porter, PE; Tanner Carr, PE; and the rest of the TTL team helped the city navigate environmental approvals, historic approvals, floodway management, and the complexities of managing federally funded work, among other challenges.
“West Tuscaloosa is long overdue for revitalization and redevelopment,” Crawford said. “I’m just thankful TTL was given an opportunity to help further that along.”
