By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A portion of North River Drive and the river edge trail will be closed beginning next week as work begins on the city’s new Riverlife Park, according to city officials.
Work will be from the north side of Wausau on the Water, or WOW, extending north of the Bridge Street Bridge. The site will closed and fenced to allow for work to be completed.
Bicycle and pedestrian traffic along the river edge trail will be rerouted to North River Drive around the construction area, then back to the river edge trail. This section of North River Drive will be closed to vehicular traffic.
During this phase of construction, WOW will only be accessible from the south. Visitors from the north should take Third Street south to Fulton Street to North River Drive.
Wausau Chemical and Wausau Waterworks will only be accessible from the north.
Signs will be installed Monday, May 21, when the closure is expected to begin.
Riverlife Park is one of the key elements in the city’s ongoing effort to transform the once-barren landscape along the Wisconsin River. The park is planned for a roughly one-acre parcel between Wausau on the Water Family Entertainment Center and the Bridge Street bridge. The project, which has been awarded to Miron Construction, was bid out in late summer 2017.
All amenities will be located steps from the river, along the riverfront trail.
The total project is expected to cost roughly $4.7 million, about $4.3 million of which was borrowed in 2016. The city also has secured $502,450 in grants and donations to offset the cost of the park.
