The Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead on a project that seeks to access the riverfront from the south side of the Missouri River.
Last week, the Jefferson City Council passed a resolution thanking B.J. DeLong for her recent $50,000 donation to get the project going. The resolution was passed 9-1, with 4th Ward Councilman Glen Costales being the sole opponent. Costales said a survey done in 2010 found 54 percent of respondents opposed riverfront development, adding no government funds of any kind should be involved in such a project.
Exploring access from the south side is not a new idea and has often been explored in the past, usually hitting the same snag each time - the Union Pacific railroad blocks access, and going around the tracks, either below or above, could be a costly venture.
Randy Allen, chamber president and CEO, said previous plans had focused on going under the railroad, which Union Pacific officials were not in favor of doing. Allen said they met with Union Pacific officials in April and they indicated they would prefer an overhead access.
Allen said DeLong's donation will allow preliminary work to begin, which he expects to be complete in November.
"We asked Ms. DeLong to provide us with this money so the chamber could contract with Bartlett & West to develop an overhead concept to get the approvals from the (Union Pacific) and (the U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers and provide a cost estimate," Allen said.
DeLong has said the $50,000 donation could be used to pay for a contractor to develop a plan for access and for a riverfront park on Adrian's Island.