$12 Million, 2-Mile Northern Riverwalk Extension Now Set for Mid-2027
Construction on a nearly 2-mile extension of Tuscaloosa's Northern Riverwalk is now projected to begin midway through 2027, about a year later than city officials projected last fall.
The second phase of the Northern Riverwalk is estimated to cost $12 million, according to the city’s presentation at Tuesday’s Transportation Summit, an annual event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. It was presented this year by Thompson Engineering and hosted by the city at the River Market.
Design is complete for this extension of the Northern Riverwalk, and construction is expected to take about nine months once it begins.
When Tuscaloosa City Engineer Mike Gardiner presented the plans at last year’s summit, the Thread reported that work was set to begin in spring 2026 and could wrap up around the end of the same year - obviously that has not come to fruition.
On Tuesday, Gardiner said the city is “very close to finishing up acquisition” of the land the path needs.
“This will be a 2-mile stretch of Riverwalk extension that’ll take you from Randall Park along the river and connect to the pedestrian bridge,” Gardiner said. That bridge, over North River, was built as part of the city’s extension of McWright’s Ferry Road.
From the McWright’s Ferry pedestrian bridge, there is already a nearly 2-mile paved and lit walking track parallel to the road, all the way to Bluegrass Parkway, even further extending the route.
Gardiner said that, like the rest of the Riverwalk, the new stretch will include lighting and cameras for safety.
Provided by Philanthropists
The Northern Riverwalk exists largely because of the Randall family, publishing giants and unmatched local philanthropists. Their donation of 19 acres, valued at $2.72 million, made the first phase possible. The Randall Family Park & Trailhead and its 0.6-mile path opened in January 2022.
That December, the city accepted another 6.6 acres from the family, valued at more than $1.9 million. The city said at the time that the land would be used to extend the path to the northeast.
In 2024, the City Council’s Public Projects Committee considered an agreement with McGiffert and Associates to design the second phase, the Thread reported at the time.
Bridging the Black Warrior
Phase 2 is one piece of the city's larger plan for the future of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk: a connected path of more than 9 miles running from the Western Riverwalk to Bluegrass Parkway.
The Western Riverwalk is opened but not yet fully linked to the "main Riverwalk" near the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater.
That connection will coincide with the transformation of Tuscaloosa's Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Jack Warner Parkway - which may not wrap up until Summer 2029, according to the city.
The Riverwalk then ends miles to the east by the University of Alabama campus, but a planned extension would continue it along Jack Warner Parkway to McFarland Boulevard.
That extension would connect to a pedestrian path planned for the new Woolsey Finnell Bridge. As the Thread reported last week, the Alabama Department of Transportation awarded the $167 million contract to replace the bridge to Scott Bridge Company. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027 and take as long as four years.
ALDOT’s summit presentation shows a 10-foot shared-use path across the river, separated from traffic by a barrier, running from Rice Mine Road on the north bank to Jack Warner Parkway on the south. ALDOT says the path will connect with the city’s planned Riverwalk extension.
On the north bank, the bridge path will join the Northern Riverwalk near the Sports Illustrated Resort under construction on Rice Mine Road and get linked into the Northern Riverwalk at Randall Park.
The pieces could all come together by 2030, giving Tuscaloosa one of the longest recreational riverwalks in the United States.
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