Riverwalk Trail remains closed as wet conditions delay cleanup
By Chris Fortune
Residents will have to wait a little longer to take a leisurely stroll along a local trail.
Riverwalk Trail, which stretches from Riverfront Park to the Remington Nature Center, has been closed for nearly three weeks as a safety precaution after the Missouri River began running high following heavy rain throughout June.
The river crest at about 23.5 feet on July 4, which was enough to fall within the moderate flood stage. The floodwaters left behind mud, branches and other debris along the Riverwalk Trail.
“When that spills over the bank and goes over the trail, it will carry all of that type of debris up and over and leave a lot of it on the trail, especially when that water recedes,” Chuck Kempf, the city’s director of Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities, said.
Gregory Anderson visited Riverwalk Trail twice in June. He’s ready for it to reopen because it gives him another option when he takes his dog Nala on walks.
“I like walking because you can see nature, and I feel like just walking and being out in nature helps mentally,” he said.
The trail also allows him to get closer to the river and listen to nature.
“I would definitely say it gives a better view of the river,” he said. “There’s also little patches where you can bird watch, which is kind of cool.”
The parks department is trying to find the right time to clean up the debris to allow residents to return. Kempf said an employee will be out again on Thursday with a skid steer to clear the trail.
The process to clear the trail is similar to shoveling snow.
“What happens then is there’s a fairly significant depth of that material on both sides of the trail,” he said. “Then he has to push it away from the trail because if he doesn’t, every time it rains, it will wash that material back over the trail again.”
The parks department originally planned to clear the trail on Tuesday, but morning rain delayed it to Thursday. Work is expected to continue into Friday.
“With any luck at all, we might be able to get the trail back open for the weekend,” he said. “I’m not going to make any promises until he’s able to evaluate that and actually get some work done.”
