Long-planned waterfront boardwalk on Bayou Texar gets OK'd by railroad, mayor says
After nearly 11 years since it was first proposed, Pensacola appears to be ready to move forward on a pedestrian bypass of Graffiti Bridge.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said Gulf and Atlantic Railways agreed to the city's previously scrapped plans to build a pedestrian boardwalk under the Bayou Texar railroad trestle.
"We're still working on the timeline and how we're going to fund it and all those things, and we'll get that done," Reeves said earlier this week speaking at the District 4 Town Hall at Bayview Park. "But the most important part is the new rail owner has agreed to do that for us. So now, if you're coming from (Bayview Park) and want to get to the Three Mile Bridge, you don't have to risk your life going out into (17th Avenue under) Graffiti Bridge coming around a bend."
In 2018, the Pensacola City Council approved a $134,000 contract to build a boardwalk under the Bayou Texar railroad trestle along the waterfront. The boardwalk would have connected the boat ramp parking lot south of the railroad tracks to the existing boardwalk north of the railroad tracks that lead to the sidewalk on 17 Avenue.
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The city began working on the project in 2012 when the Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee formed by former Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward recommended the idea.
Final plans and engineering documents for the project were completed in 2016 for $96,000.
However, after awarding the contract in 2018, the city quietly canceled the project when CSX, the railroad owner at the time, informed the city that it would charge $10,000 a day to inspect the boardwalk.
Later that year, CSX sold 430 miles of track in north Florida to Rail USA, including railroad trestles over Bayou Texar and 17th Avenue. Rail USA renamed itself as Gulf and Atlantic Railways earlier this year.
Reeves told the News Journal that discussions about bringing Amtrak service back to Florida with Gulf and Atlantic Railways CEO Ryan Ratledge led to the question being brought up about the city project.
"They said, 'Yeah, absolutely, we'll take a look,'" Reeves said. "And our staff and his staff worked together, and instead of figuring out a way to say no, they figured out a way to say yes."
Reeves said the city is looking at possibly moving forward on the project when it starts the rebuilding of Wayside Park after Hurricane Sally damage along with other park improvements, but it's also possible it could move forward as a stand-alone project.
"It's great news for us, not only to gain this amenity for safety and pedestrians and bicyclists, but it's also a great positive step for the city and its relationship with a key partner, which is someone who owns the rail from basically west of the train station all the way to Jacksonville," Reeves said.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Graffiti Bridge pedestrian bypass moving forward after 4-year delay
