A blog link about this trail extension with photos.
The Syracuse Creekwalk, which dead-ends before reaching Onondaga Lake, will extend all the way to that body of water when the walkway is completed next year.
Representatives of the state Department of Transportation and CSX railroad told a state hearing officer Thursday they have no objections to the creekwalk passing under a CSX bridge that crosses over the creek north of Hiawatha Boulevard.
Peter Loomis, chief administrative law judge for the DOT, held the hearing and will make a recommendation to the DOT commissioner regarding the creekwalk’s route under the railroad bridge.
In the late 1990s, the city extended the walkway along the west bank of Onondaga Creek from the Syracuse Inner Harbor to just north of the Bear Street overpass. It could not go any farther because the CSX railroad tracks stood in the way.
Charles Stanton, chief bridge engineer for C&S Cos. and a consultant to the city on the creekwalk project, said plans are to extend the creekwalk to Hiawatha Boulevard, where it will cross over to the east shore of the creek. From there, it will be extended to the lake, with a covered walkway under the CSX bridge being the last leg of the extension.
Stanton said the walkway under the bridge will have a corrugated metal roof to protect pedestrians and bicyclists from any falling debris. And chain-link fencing on the sides of the walkway and along the trail will prevent people from walking up an embankment to the railroad tracks.
Work is scheduled to start in the spring and be completed in fall 2010, he said. At the same time, the creekwalk will be extended from Franklin Square to Armory Square, he said.
The cost of the work is estimated to be $6 million to $7 million. Stanton said the final cost is subject to the completion of final plans.
Funding for the project is coming from the city and federal governments. Stanton said the city’s portion will be 10 percent to 20 percent of the cost.
He said the northern segment of the creekwalk will end at the lake for now, but that eventually it will be connected to Onondaga County’s planned “loop the lake” trail around the lake. It also could be tied into whatever attractions are built as part of developer Robert Congel’s Destiny USA project, a planned retail, hotel and entertainment center east of the creek.
The city also is seeking permission for the walkway under the railroad bridge from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the state Canal Corp. and the Army Corps of Engineers.
By Rick Moriarty, Syracuse.com link to original article
