Jan 24, 2025 - News
A new $2 million Texas Beach pedestrian bridge is in the works
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The James River. Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
At long last, Texas Beach is getting a new pedestrian bridge.
Why it matters: Richmonders have been unable to legally access the popular James River spot for more than two years.
Driving the news: Work is about to begin on a new Texas Beach pedestrian bridge now that $2 million in federal funding has been secured, WTVR reports.
- The city is in the "pre-construction" and access phase of the project, which the bridge's location has complicated and delayed.
- The bridge and Texas Beach are by Maymont along the river's North Bank Trail and near a creek. The bridge runs over both of those, and CSX railroad tracks.
- Still, city officials expect the work to be completed by the end of 2026 — the deadline set because they're using federal ARPA funds, which must be spent by then.
Catch up quick: The city closed the 50-year-old bridge Texas Beach pedestrian bridge on Sept. 1, 2022, after they deemed it structurally unsound.
- The bridge was the only legal access point for the beach, which Friends of the James River Park calls one the safest places to swim in the James.
- At the time, City Council said it'd already set aside $2 million in federal dollars to repair the bridge.
- In spring 2023, nearly nine months after the bridge was closed, officials said they were still working on a cost estimate and hoped to have the new bridge up and running by summer 2024, the Times-Dispatch reported.
The bottom line: A new Texas Beach pedestrian bridge is happening. For real this time. We hope.