A dirt road is the only way into Riverbend Park at this time, but that will soon change. Work crews have started clearing the area, and the first phase of Kingsport’s newest park is expected to be completed by November. It will be located behind the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Henry Drive.
A dirt road is the only way into Riverbend Park at this time, but that will soon change. Work crews have started clearing the area, and the first phase of Kingsport’s newest park is expected to be completed by November. It will be located behind the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Henry Drive.
KINGSPORT — The first steps toward creating the newest park in the Model City are underway.
Crews are in the process of clearing debris for the new Riverbend Park, which will be located behind the Walmart Supercenter on Fort Henry Drive.
“They have started work,” Kitty Frazier, Kingsport Parks and Recreation manager, said. “They are currently in the cleaning and grubbing stage.”
The city awarded a bid in May for the first phase of construction for the park to King General Contractors, based in Bristol, Tennessee, for almost $1 million.
The project will create a 24-acre park along the South Fork of the Holston River, stretching from Riverbend Drive to Wesley Road.
The first phase will include a half-mile, granite walking trail along the river, a fishing pier and emergency access to the park.
TVA is funding and working with the city to improve the existing parking area at the end of Wesley Road to include an ADA parking space.
Frazier said there is equipment currently on a dirt road leading to the area being cleared.
“That’s a fairly extensive amount of work on that section, so they’ll be doing that awhile,” she said.
The project has been in the works for years, dating back to 2015 when an Alabama company that built the Villas at River Bend apartment complex donated 24 acres to the city. Kingsport then built a road to the property and installed a traffic signal.
Kingsport has designed Riverbend Park to be a multi-phase project, one that can be developed over a period of five to 10 years. Conceptual drawings show the park having about 2,646 feet of riverbank access with gateway entrances at both ends of the trail, various play areas, pavilions, restrooms, benches, scenic spots and interpretive signs at various locations along the river.
Frazier said the city expects completion of the first phase by mid-November.
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