What’s going on under the MLK bridge?
I have an answer to all the recent construction!
TOLEDO, Ohio — If you’ve driven over the MLK bridge recently, you’ve likely noticed the amount of construction happening down by the river. I spoke with the entity responsible, and they say there’s reason to be excited!
Under the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge in downtown Toledo, on a chilly — and quite windy — March day, I met with Scott Carpenter, spokesperson for Metroparks Toledo.
“The first part of it has been open for a couple of years now. The second part’s under construction. Last month, 12,000 people came to get a preview of the ice skating ribbon — and that will all be open in June. By then, we’ll be well underway with the first phases of Glass City Riverwalk — and that’s what we’re looking at here,” Carpenter explained.
He says there’s still work to be completed over at Glass City Metropark, but starting in January, crews began the demolition phase on the downtown side of the river. Downtown, from the bridge to behind Fort Industry Square, will now be linked with a walkway — and much more.
“Behind the One Seagate, or the Fifth Third building, this will be a circular bridge that goes up and joins the Martin Luther King bridge, so this’ll be a nice pedestrian and bicycle way up to the bridge, over to the other side. We think the MLK bridge would be the main way people go back and forth,” said Carpenter. “This and the other side of the river will continue under construction all through next year, so look for it to open in 2025, and we still have more to go. The last part of it will be the Vistula neighborhood.”
He imagines the soon-to-be small park to accommodate laid back performances and concerts, as well as whatever people can imagine, as long as the park district can accommodate it. He adds that people should expect the large-scale project to be completed in a span of eight years, but you will notice progress along the way.
“Riverwalk will connect six neighborhoods and create a nice destination and really a gateway to Northwest Ohio. We think it’ll be, probably, one of our most popular destinations in the whole region,” Carpenter prophesied.
The funding comes from tax dollars and private donations. So in making this $200 million+ project happen, there had to be cooperation between the parks district and the area businesses. Carpenter says all were on board because they believe in its importance for our city and it’s future, as well as in the benefits of bringing more people into downtown.
“We’ve talked about our riverfront for decades, and things came together, you know. Metroparks kind of played the role of the convenor and brought together a lot of different agencies,” he explained. “We want people to move here, stay here, start their families, start their businesses.”
If you want to continue to follow progress in the project, visit glasscityriverwalk.com.
