Pueblo Riverwalk channel to be temporarily drained as planned expansion project proceeds

The Pueblo Riverwalk channel will be emptied and cleaned between July 29 and Aug. 15 as H.W. Houston construction crews proceed with the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo (HARP) 1A Expansion Project.

Beginning in June and scheduled for completion after 18 to 24 months, the expansion project will make the Riverwalk home to a two-story boathouse and an extended channel reaching northeast from Gateway Park toward South Santa Fe Avenue.

Guests will still be able to walk along the Riverwalk during the 17 days the channel is being drained, according to a HARP news release. Outside of Riverwalk excursion boat rides being closed during that time, pre-scheduled events will not be interrupted by the draining and cleaning.

"We are going to try and do our maintenance cleaning that we typically do in January and February," HARP Director of Operations Daisy Jensen told the Chieftain . "We don't believe that we'll do be able to do our typical cleaning at that time because construction will not be complete or is not planned to be complete by then."

Don’s Landscaping, a sub-contractor for the expansion project, will be removing dead plant matter, debris and sediment while the Riverwalk is drained. Meanwhile, H.W. Houston crews will be constructing a dam to close off the boathouse construction area.

Jensen, who toured the construction site on Friday morning, told the Chieftain that construction is on schedule and that pedestrians can avoid the construction area by walking along Veterans Bridge, which is about 100 to 200 feet away.

"If you wanted to get a good bird's eye view of the construction area, just go on top of Veterans Bridge and you can kind of see what's going on and what's taking place," she said.

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Water will return to the Riverwalk channel in time for the Aug. 17 "Riverfest"— an extreme sports showcase featuring BMX, a "Build Your Own Boat" race, Endurocross, and freestyle jet skiing. Once completed, the two-story Riverwalk Boathouse will be equipped with a boat ticket sales area, a concession area, boat storage space, restrooms and a rooftop deck available for rent.

"We're excited to see this project move forward and really be an asset to the Downtown Pueblo area," Jensen said.

The HARP Authority can be contacted at 719-595-024 for additional information about the expansion project, construction and upcoming Riverwalk events.

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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Riverwalk channel to be temporarily drained as planned expansion project proceeds