ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- A project to connect an area of hotels and restaurants off Interstate 65 in Elizabethtown with the downtown district could be finished as soon as spring of 2024.
To be constructed in three stages, a 10-12-foot paved walking trail will run from the hotel area through Buffalo Lake and connect to downtown. The development will feature two new bridges over Valley and Buffalo creeks, benches and informal seating along the route.
"(The trail) will wind around Buffalo Lake with several lookout points on top of the levee along the railroad tracks," said Janna Clark, executive director of Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau. "It will actually go down the other side of the levee and come out into the Haycraft Neighborhood."
The design will feature limestone and iron materials for construction, paying homage to Elizabethtown's "Bourbon's Backyard" designation.
Phase I of the project will focus on the connection between the hotel area off of I-65 and downtown. Phases II and III, which will be completed further down the road, will look to expand the area and create a "Discovery Zone." The specific zone will feature greenspace and trails for hikers, runners and bikers.
Later phases also have plans to use silt from recent dredging of Buffalo Lake to construct a lookout area over the discover zone.
"What's good for visitors is really good for our community, and what's good for E'Town is really good for our visitors," Clark said.
The city owns a vacant building at East Dixie Avenue that will be incorporated somehow, but plans for it hasn't been disclosed yet.
It could ultimately feature an urban plaza area, bicycle repair areas and maybe outdoor games, Clark said.
"There's some opportunity for new business and retail in that area," she said.
The first phase could be done by spring of 2024.
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