By Ken Slavin
(re-prints please credit photos by Ken Slavin)
I've been helping to develop and pitch national media stories on the new 1.3 mile Museum Reach of the San Antonio River Walk, which officially opens to the public on Saturday, May 30.
Lush grass is already growing along the banks of the new Museum Reach.
I recently invited the Associated Press for a "look-see." (I also brought along my trusty Sony Cyber-Shot digital camera!) Boone Powell, AIA, principal architect and lead designer, and Steven Schauer from the San Antonio River Authority, as well as the project manager, gave us a three-hour tour. We learned about the architectural, engineering and artistic elements of this incredible project. I came away with a feeling of renewed pride in our unique and beautiful city.
I hope you enjoy the photos I took. And please watch for the Associated Press story, which will run this weekend throughout Texas.
Following are some "fun facts" provided to me by the San Antonio River Authority:
PROJECT COST
Total Project Cost – The $72.1 million Museum Reach Urban Segment is funded by the City of San Antonio ($52.3 million), Bexar County ($13.1 million), San Antonio Water System (SAWS; $200,000 for utility line relocation) and through private donations collected by the San Antonio River Foundation ($6.5 million).
The San Antonio River Authority will provide $1.5 million annually for operations and maintenance of the Museum Reach.
PROJECT PARTNERS
City of San Antonio – Provides project funding for project amenities (i.e. Sidewalks, Landscaping, Lighting, etc.) and recreation.
San Antonio Water System – Provides funding for utility relocation.
Bexar County – Provides project funding for flood control and river restoration elements of the project.
San Antonio River Authority – The San Antonio River Authority (SARA) is the project manager during design and construction, the SARA will provide operations and maintenance for the completed project.
San Antonio River Foundation – Provides private funding to support public art and enhancements to the project.
The approach to the San Antonio Museum of Art (on the left).
San Antonio River Oversight Committee – A 22-person citizens’ committee, established in 1998, oversaw the design and implementation phases of the project. Members were appointed by the City, County and SARA and represent the various neighborhood and business stakeholders along the river. All oversight committee meetings are open to the public.
Design Team – Ford, Powell & Carson Architects & Planners and HDR Engineering, Inc. started preliminary design in January 2002 and finished final design in November 2006.
Contractor – Zachry Construction Corporation is the contractor for the Urban Segment. Ground breaking was held on May 8, 2007 and the project grand opening will be held on May 30, 2009.
Security – The City of San Antonio Park Police Department will provide law enforcement along the new segment.
Stakeholders – Fifty-five property owners along the river donated property or easements to SARA to facilitate construction of the Museum Reach.
PROJECT DIMENSIONS
Length – The Museum Reach Urban Segment is 1.33 miles long, and includes approximately 3.4 miles of walkways. The project begins on the downstream side of the Lexington Avenue bridge and ends on the downstream side of the Josephine Street bridge.
River Depth – The river will be approximately three feet deep at the bulkheads throughout the new segment, with the exception of the area from the lock & dam complex to the Jones Ave, bridge, which will be approximately 12 feet deep immediately upstream of the lock & dam complex and shallow out to approximately three feet once again by Jones Ave.
PROJECT MATERIALS
Construction Materials – The river channel bulkheads, sidewalks and retaining walls are constructed primarily of concrete, limestone and brick according to three historical themes.
Design Themes – The project design is broken down into three historical themes:
1) the Hugman theme, from Lexington Avenue to just upstream of Ninth Street, reflects the use of limestone on the original Riverwalk;
2) the San Antonio Museum of Art theme, from Ninth Street to I-35, reflects the use of brick on the San Antonio Museum of Art; and
3) the Pearl theme, from I-35 to Josephine Street, reflects the industrial aesthetic of the Pearl through the use of sandblasted concrete.
Cypress tree planted by Linda Hardberger as a gift to her husband, Mayor Phil Hardberger - and a permanent gift to San Antonio.
River Bottom – The river bottom is made of large cobble (approximately 6” diameter rocks) to provide a more natural environment for aquatic life.
Landscaping – CFZ Group, L.L.C. was the landscape architect for the Urban Segment. The project features over 100 plant species, mostly native grasses, shrubs and trees, with a few select non-natives such as palm trees (a unifying feature from the original River Walk).
Soil Nailing – Landscaping and construction crews saved several heritage trees along the segment through a process called “soil nailing.” Soil nailing involves carefully removing sections of the river bank and securing the retaining wall by “nailing” supports directly into the soil. This process makes it possible to leave large trees and their root systems intact during construction.
Ninety-eight percent of the existing tree canopy was kept throughout the construction process and exists on the segment today.
Landscapers planted a bald cypress in the turning basin which was donated to the project by Linda Hardberger as a 39th wedding anniversary gift to San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger. Twenty-two other trees were donated in recognition of the members of the San Antonio River Oversight Committee.
PROJECT FEATURES
Access Points – The Urban Segment features 25 river access points. Thirteen of those access points are ADA accessible.
Pedestrian Amenities – There are 24 benches and 18 trash cans along the Urban Segment, as well as directional signage throughout the entire segment.
Lighting – The project contains 150 light poles; 63 illuminated bollards; 254 overlook and bridge lights; 160 wall and step lights; and 100 ground mount tree lights, totaling 727 new energy-efficient lights along the Urban Segment. The lighting requires 21 miles of conduit and 70 miles of electrical wire.
Pedestrian Bridges – The Urban Segment contains three pedestrian bridges:
1) overlooking the lock and dam complex;
2) the Roy Smith Street Bridge just south of I-35; and
3) just north of the turning basin at the Pearl.
view of the original steel bridge that once spanned the two main towers of the Lone Star Brewery, now the San Antonio Museum of Art. (It dates to the late 1800s.) It was discarded for decades, but Ford Powell & Carson Architects incorporated it into the
Roy Smith Street Bridge – The bridge structure originally spanned two buildings at the Lone Star Brewery (now the San Antonio Museum of Art) and it was used to roll kegs from brewing to storage areas. The San Antonio Museum of Art built its glass-enclosed skyway where the bridge used to be. The bridge was donated to the San Antonio River Foundation by Mark Watson. The San Antonio River Foundation funded the bridge structure’s renovation.
Public Art – The San Antonio River Foundation raised $11 million to date to fund public art installations along the Urban Segment. The project features the work of eight artists in twelve locations along the segment.
Rest Stops/Overlooks – There are four rest stop/overlook areas:
1) near the lock & dam;
2) near Eighth Street;
3) near the San Antonio Museum of Art; and
4) near Schiller Street.
Restrooms – The segment contains four public restrooms at the lock and dam complex.
Lock and Dam Complex – The lock and dam complex consists of two lock chambers and a flood crest gate.
-The two locks work independently, so barges can travel upstream or downstream together or separately at the same time.
-Each lock holds approximately 40,000 gallons of water when filled.
-Locks can operate on as little as five cubic feet per second (cfs) of water (2,240 gallons per minute). The City of San Antonio keeps the river flowing at a minimum of 15 cfs via flood tunnel recirculation when natural flow drops below 15 cfs.
-Locks will be manned and operated seven days a week by SARA personnel.
How the lock works:
-Barge operator signals lock master that barge is ready to enter lock.
-Lock master opens lock and barge enters (2-3 minutes).
-Water fills lock chamber or is drained from lock chamber using only the force of
gravity, lifting or lowering barge approximately nine feet (5-7 minutes).
-Lock master opens lock and barge exits (2-3 minutes).
The entire trip through the lock should take approximately 10-12 minutes.
The dam portion of the lock and dam complex is a hinged flood crest gate that can be lowered during flood events. The process of lowering the dam must be initiated by the lock master through a computer on-site. Lowering the dam allows storm water to pass down the river channel more quickly, aiding in flood control.
Barge Landings – The Urban Segment contains 18 official barge landings, each of which features fish lunkers directly below it.
Fish Lunkers – Concrete boxes recessed into the river bulkheads which provide shelter for aquatic life from sun and strong currents.
Low Water Fish Sanctuaries – Portions of the riverbed were excavated to create pools where fish can survive when the river is drained for maintenance and repairs.
Safe Harbor Facility – A “safe harbor” facility is located between Camden Street and I-35 at river level. The facility consists of a Park Police office; three boat slips for Park Police boats and emergency barge docking; and a boat ramp for emergency barge removal.
Grotto – The Grotto is a cave-like structure funded by the San Antonio River Foundation at river level between Camden Street and Newell Avenue. San Antonio artist Carlos Cortés employs the faux bois art style his family brought to San Antonio two generations ago. A companion piece to the Grotto is a concrete palapa tree in the faux bois style at street level by the intersection of Camden and Newell.
Special Events/Stage – There is an island stage to be used as a barge landing and special event stage for the future Pearl amphitheater (amphitheater is planned for 2011). SARA plans to use the stage to host public events.
The turning basin of the new Museum Reach - at the Pearl Brewery development. Beautiful water features here and new plantings make it so visually striking. Can you imagine how it will look when the Pearl project is finished? (There will eventually be an
Turning Basin – Barge traffic will turn around in the turning basin just downstream of the Grayson Street bridge by the Pearl. Pedestrian traffic can continue upstream to Josephine Street.
Water Features – The Urban Segment contains six water features (pools, small waterfalls, etc.):
1) upstream of Ninth Street;
2) near the San Antonio Museum of Art;
3) near Twelfth Street;
4) just downstream of I-35;
5) the Grotto between Camden Avenue and Newell Street; and
6) in the turning basin by the Pearl.
URBAN SEGMENT HISTORY
Hugman Dam – The Hugman Dam just upstream of Lexington Avenue was kept as a historical feature of the Urban Segment. The dam is named after Riverwalk architect Robert H.H. Hugman. A third of the dam has been removed to allow barge traffic through. Pedestrian signage will give the history of Hugman and the dam.
Alamo Mills Dam – The Alamo Mills Dam was discovered during construction near VFW Post 76 just downstream of Jones Ave. The dam was built in the 1870s and was partially dismantled in the early 1900s. Subsequently, the dam was silted over and lost to history until Urban Segment construction crews found it. The dam was used to send water through a mill raceway to the Alamo Mill at Eighth Street. The mill made flour and, later, ice. The dam will be visible to visitors day and night, and signage will give its history.
(re-prints please credit photos by Ken Slavin)
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