Construction of the southern part of the city’s Sweetheart Trail has rounded another bend. The section along South Beach Street from Shady Place to Wilder Boulevard is complete and open for enjoyment. At a cost of $1.2 million, work on this section included constructing the trail along with upgrading the stormwater system, narrowing Beach Street to make room for the trail, adding curbs and gutters, repaving South Beach Street and installing a streetlight system. Now that the construction is complete, FP&L will install the decorative streetlights as part of their Tariff 1 Program.
This new section ties into existing trail sections, both to the north and south of the project. The final part of the southern end of the Sweetheart Trail includes a section from Bellevue Avenue north to Orange Avenue, which is under construction while the city completes a utility project in the area.
The $8.1 million utility project includes the installation of a new 36-inch force main along South Beach Street to increase capacity in the wastewater collection system serving the downtown area and installation of four stormwater backflow preventers to help mitigate storm sewer backups due to high water levels in the Halifax River.
Staff estimates about 80% of the approximately four-mile trail is complete. The entire trail is scheduled to be finished in 2021.