Bradenton Extending the Downtown Riverwalk, with a Major Expansion
The new extension of the Bradenton Riverwalk will almost double the length of the pedestrian walkway along the Manatee River..
The Bradenton Riverwalk’s extension east towards the historic Old Manatee district will be on as the East Riverwalk. This project will extend the walkable path by about 1.25 miles. It is expected to take about two years to complete and cost about $7 million.
The construction for this expansion will be done in four different phases. It has already begun on the eastern-most portion of the project, with renovations at Mineral Springs Park, the Riverside peninsula and construction of the first phase of the Riverwalk extension. The first segment includes a boardwalk that spans the distance of roughly two blocks over the waters of the Manatee River from about 12th Street to 14th Street.
Construction crews will also begin construction on the extension’s second and third phases before the first phase is finished. Those phases include construction of two new portions of the Riverwalk on Riverside Drive.
There will be a gap between those two Riverside Drive segments that will be connected by the project’s final segment to create a continuous pedestrian pathway across the Riverwalk’s western and eastern halves.
The city of Bradenton is also working with the Tarpon Pointe Marina to make it possible to connect the two halves of the Riverwalk through 3rd Street, instead of Manatee Avenue. This step, would allow pedestrians to stay as close to the shoreline as possible.
Learn more on the plan from the City of Bradenton here: https://cityofbradenton.com/RWeast
Realize Bradenton has also some great information on the Riverwalk here: https://www.realizebradenton.com/riverwalk-expansion/