What has been four decades in the planning and spanned the terms of six Tampa mayors?
It’s the Tampa Riverwalk.
And Tuesday will mark the beginning of the end of construction for the waterfront feature.
There will be a ceremony Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Curtis Hixon Waterfron Park unveiling the final leg of the Riverwalk.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn reportedly will be joined by former mayors Bill Poe, Sandy Freedman, Bob Martinez, Dick Greco and Pam Iorio - all had a hand in creating the Riverwalk and keeping it alive.
The last segment will be constructed actually on the river. It runs from Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park south along the shoreline, underneath the Kennedy Boulevard Bridge and past the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel before reconnecting to the riverbank.
The segment is called the Kennedy Boulevard Plaza. It’s expected that private land developers will add onto the northern end of the walk as downtown development expands.
Construction is estimated to take 18 months with the last segment opening in November 2014.
Johnson Brothers, LLC, which also built the Brorein Underpass Segment, will construct the Kennedy Boulevard Plaza. The Kennedy segment cost $9.2 million and about 70 percent of the money came from a federal transportation grant.
