Long-delayed Milwaukee harbor walkway wins $14.7 million grant. Construction to begin in 2025

A long-delayed waterfront walkway along Milwaukee's harbor will see construction start in spring after winning $14.7 million in federal funding.

The Harbor District trail will be built at the Kinnickinnic River's mouth, near Komatsu Mining Corp.'s new corporate campus.

It will include outdoor event space, and a building with public restrooms, which expands Harbor View Plaza . The plaza, which features a children's play area, benches and a water feature, overlooks the harbor at the end of East Greenfield Avenue.

The new trail, which will be wide enough to accommodate bicycles, also will feature an area that leads people to the water.

The river walk will run in two segments, separated by railroad tracks, totaling nearly three-quarters of a mile between the end of East Greenfield Avenue and the South Kinnickinnic Avenue bridge. That's much larger than the typical river walk of 300 to 400 feet.

The project's construction timeline calls for two phases, with the paved trail built by the end of 2025, and the expanded plaza and other features built by the end of 2026.

That division is needed because of the new grant from the Federal Highway Administration, via the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. That Transportation Alternatives Program grant can only be used to build the walkway.

Project approved in 2022 by city officials

The project was approved in 2022 by the Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

But, when the city in 2023 sought bids, the lowest came in at $15.8 million. That's significantly over the project budget of $13.3 million.

The project budget was set in 2018 − before the inflation rate accelerated. Inflation has since scaled back significantly , but construction costs are still higher than initially expected.

The city typically pays around 70% of a river walk's costs, with the rest paid by the adjacent property owner. The public funds would come largely from property tax revenue generated by Komatsu's adjacent offices and factory.

The new walkway will include an area dubbed The Node. It will create an aquatic habitat with landscaping and native plants. Stairs and ramps provide people a way to touch the water at a shallow inlet created by removing a portion of the dock wall.

“I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and President Joe Biden for their generous support to bring the Milwaukee Harbor District Harbor View Riverwalk project to life,” Johnson said, in a Thursday statement.

“This award is exciting, particularly as it reaffirms the City's commitment to connecting the Harbor District to the broader community,” Milwaukee Common Council President José G. Pérez said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram , X and Facebook .

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Long-delayed Milwaukee harbor walkway wins $14.7 million grant. Construction to begin in 2025