Contractor making good progress on Riverbend Park

Work is ongoing for Riverbend Park – a new 24-acre park along the South Fork of the Holston River – with the first phase expected to be complete by summertime.

This first phase of the project includes a half-mile, granite walking trail along the river, a fishing pier and emergency access to the park. Most of the work on the lower trail is complete, while the piers for the boardwalk are nearly finished.

Major work remaining is the asphalt paving of the path down to the boardwalk, the boardwalk construction, and the floating dock construction. Tennessee Valley Authority is funding and working with the city to improve the existing parking area at the end of Wesley Road to include an ADA parking space.

King General Contractors submitted the low bid of $952,601 for phase one.

Riverbend Park will be located behind the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Henry Drive and will ultimately stretch from Riverbend Drive to Wesley Road. Kingsport has designed Riverbend Park to be a multi-phase project that can be developed over a 5-to-10-year period. The entire project calls for gateway entrances at both ends of the trail, various play areas, pavilions, restrooms, benches, scenic spots, and interpretive signs.

“In our parks and recreation master plan, consultants recommended the city connect both active and passive recreation offerings to the Holston River and our downtown,” said Kitty Frazier, parks and recreation manager. “This project helps us reach that goal and we think it’ll spur greater outdoor interest all along the Holston River.”

For more information on Kingsport’s parks, visit www.kingsportparksandrecreation.org.