Work begins on pedestrian tunnel at new Fairhope nature preserve

FAIRHOPE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — Crews began prepping a section of Veterans Drive Monday to take an idea.

“I sure wish there was a way to connect the two pieces of property that wouldn’t force people to cross the road,” Public Works Director Richard Johnson said.

That idea is now becoming a reality in the form of a pedestrian tunnel.

“The goal is folks inside the park will be able to go from one part of the park to the other and really never leave the park,” says Johnson. “Stay in nature in that sense.”

The pedestrian tunnel is the beginning of transforming over 100 acres, donated to the city by the Dyas family, into the Flying Creek Nature Preserve.

It will be full of walking and biking trails, a kayak launch, a nature center and much more. All of it is near downtown Fairhope.

“When you can introduce a hundred-plus acres of parkland to your citizens and visitors, as Mayor Sullivan said, that’s a legacy project,” Johnson said.

The tunnel is the first part of the project and while there are pedestrian bridges around Baldwin County, there are few tunnels.

“A couple of golf courses on the Eastern Shore use tunnels for the golf carts to go from hole to hole,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of our inspiration but as far as pure pedestrian tunnel in Baldwin County; this may be the first.”

Veterans Drive is expected to remain closed for the next 60 days. Another phase of the project gets underway next week but it won’t be till the early spring of next year that the park will open to the public.

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