Wabash Riverfront projects keep rolling along
BY BRAD OPPENHEIM
Several projects are underway along the Wabash River in Tippecanoe County, aimed at enhancing and revitalizing the riverfront and making it more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Spearheading these projects is the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC). Established in 2004 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WREC was created by the City of Lafayette, the City of West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County and Purdue University to serve as the point agency for planning and implementing enhancement of the Wabash River corridor.
Its mission is to enhance the quality of life in the Wabash River corridor by providing sustainable opportunities to improve health, recreation, education, economic development and environmental management to promote the longterm sustainability of the Wabash River through environmental stewardship, recreational development and economic growth.
WREC is leading a regional effort that has developed a Corridor Master Plan to develop a 5-county, 90 river-mile Wabash River Greenway (WRG), and development projects are underway throughout the WRG region.
Three current projects are supported primarily by a $2.9 million Regional Economic Acceleration & Development Initiative (READI) grant awarded by the state, along with $5 million from the Lilly Endowment’s College and Community Collaboration Initiative grant through Purdue University, and matched with an additional $1.47 million from North Central Health Services.
According to Stan Lambert, executive director for WREC, these projects, all expected to wrap up in May of this year, aim to expand and enhance the WRG trail network on both sides of the river.
Trailheads and connectors
The first project, the North River Road Trailhead & Connector Trail, is located on the West Lafayette side of the river, beneath the Sagamore Parkway bridges along North River Road. Plans call for constructing a new trailhead with a small parking lot, a rest area with benches and bike racks, a bike repair station and a connector trail linking to the West Lafayette Sagamore Parkway Connector Trail. Lafayette Rotary funded the development of the bike repair station and trailhead components.
According to Lambert, this connection will provide access to the City of West Lafayette’s trail system and the existing protected bike lane attached to the Sagamore Parkway vehicular bridge, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to travel into Lafayette and connect with its trail system.
The second project, the Wabash River Greenway Connector Trail, is located on the Lafayette side of the river and will strengthen connections between Lafayette and West Lafayette’s trail systems.
This includes the construction of a boardwalk extending from Lafayette’s Sagamore Parkway Connector Trail and overlook, and the protected bike lane on the Sagamore Parkway bridge, down to the Wabash River Heritage Trail that extends along the river.
This will allow for a continuous route into downtown Lafayette, connecting the Lafayette Sagamore Parkway Connector Trail, the Wabash River Heritage Trail, the protected bike lane on the Sagamore Parkway bridge, the WL Sagamore Parkway Connector Trail, the North River Road Trailhead, and the future Wabash River Greenway trail along North River Road.
Canoe and kayak dock
The third project, the Wabash River Greenway Trailhead and ADA-Accessible Canoe and Kayak Facility, will construct a new trailhead along North River Road and an ADA-accessible canoe and kayak put-in/take-out dock and harbor. The trailhead will include a small parking lot, benches and bike racks and a bike repair station.
The canoe and kayak facility will be accessible via a ramp and floating gangway connecting to an ADA-accessible dock.
Additionally, a $25 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant will help fund another large project: the construction of the North Ninth Street and North River Road segment of the Wabash River Greenway Active Transportation Loop. That will extend along the North River Road and North Ninth Street Road corridors to eventually connect to Prophetstown State Park in Tippecanoe County.
Safety improvements and ADA upgrades are planned for the existing North Ninth Street trail that extends south into Lafayette. The project will include construction of a new trail beginning at the end of the current path. From there, the trail will continue south to Canal Road before turning west toward the Wabash River. It will then connect to a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Wabash River, landing at the intersection of Happy Hollow Road and North River Road.
Safety improvements and ADA upgrades are planned for the existing North Ninth Street trail that extends south into Lafayette. The project will include construction of a new trail beginning at the end of the current path. From there, the trail will continue south to Canal Road before turning west toward the Wabash River. It will then connect to a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Wabash River, landing at the intersection of Happy Hollow Road and North River Road.
“We’ll have signalized crossing so that bikers or hikers will be able to get across to that trail on Happy Hollow Road and go to Happy Hollow Park. Or to get onto the existing Wabash River Heritage Trail that’s on the west side of North River Road, and take the south end to downtown West Lafayette,” Lambert says.
From the new Wabash River bike/pedestrian bridge West Lafayette landing, the new trail will extend north along the east side of North River Road. It will then pass beneath the Sagamore Parkway bridges with a signalized crossing for safe access to the WRG Trailhead and connector trail. It will continue north through the new WRG Trailhead and ADA canoe/kayak facility and extend to Tecumseh Trails County Park.
At Tecumseh Trails, a new bike and pedestrian bridge will cross the ravine connecting to Tippecanoe County Amphitheater Park, and the trail will end at the Amphitheater Park parking lot.
“This project is in design development and is set to go out to bid in June 2027,” Lambert says.
Lambert says updates about the ongoing projects will be posted on wabashriver.net and on WREC’s Facebook page.
West Lafayette’s shopping and housing ventures
As for housing and retail development along the riverfront, Lambert says, “That calls for enhancing and increasing the existing green space, mixed use development and improved multi-modal connectivity in and along the riverfront, and we identify areas where we think these components would be best suited.”
He says WREC has worked closely with both Lafayette and West Lafayette on envisioning the future of development in the urban river corridor.
“The West Lafayette downtown plan pretty much incorporates our vision for the central reach of the Lafayette-West Lafayette riverfront with mixed use development, enhanced and increased green space, connectivity to the river and multimodal connectivity,” he says. “If developers see that there’s going to be riverfront activity and vitality occurring and being developed along the riverfront and drawing people down to the riverfront, through trails and increased park space, that’s going to spur people to take that chance and do that development project on the West Lafayette side and/or on the Lafayette side of the riverfront.”
Pedestrian bridge: Closed for repairs
Another upcoming project includes improvements to the John T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge between Lafayette and West Lafayette, which will close the majority of the bridge for several months.
“This bridge was built in 1914, and It has been over 50 years since the last major paint job,” says Jeromy Grenard, city engineer for the City of Lafayette. “There has been an overcoat about 30 years ago. This project will remove the paint down to the metal, then repair any corrosion on the stiffeners, and then repaint it.”
Additionally, there will be very minor deck surface paver repair, but Grenard says that’s not the focus of the project, which is under the deck, and mainly out of sight. The contractor will need to tent off the underside of the bridge and stage some materials and equipment on the bridge. At this point, the plan is to leave a path open for everyday pedestrians and bicyclists, but summer events traditionally hosted on the bridge will need to be relocated.
“There was another time that the bridge was closed about 10 years ago and the Beers Across the Wabash was held adjacent to the bridge and was called Beers Along the Wabash,” Grenard says. “It sounds like the Friends of Downtown are considering something similar to that this year. During the Stars and Stripes, people will be allowed to gather in the Riehle Plaza area, the Depot and on the Promenade. They will not be allowed to congregate on the bridge. Riverfest is also considering alternate layouts that do not require any gathering on the bridge.”
As for the duration of the closure, Grenard says an approximation is May 1 – November 15. Updates will be communicated through the City of Lafayette’s website and through its social media channels.
