On Thursday morning, the city hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Eagle Street Gateway project, which will be located on the north side of the river, immediately west of Eagle Street.
Several members of the Riverwalk Commission, Naperville Park District, Riverwalk Foundation, and the Riverwalk 2031 Fund, along with city officials and a representative from Congressman Bill Foster’s office, gathered to celebrate the project’s groundbreaking.
A project to improve Naperville Riverwalk accessibility
Part of the Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan, the Eagle Street Gateway is one of several enhancements coming to the Riverwalk.
“This will be everything from improvements to the seawall, to accessibility, to a grand stairway to reconnect the river portion of the Riverwalk to the main walkway portion of the Riverwalk,” said Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli.
Riverwalk accessibility is one key area the Eagle Street Gateway aims to improve.
“The Riverwalk is such a jewel for our city. It’s important to make sure it’s accessible for everybody. Everything from strollers to wheelchairs. Right now, if you are on the eastern portion of the Riverwalk, you kind of get stuck. So it’s important that we have that continuity and the ability for people to make their way with whatever means of travel,” said Wehrli.
When will the Eagle Street Gateway be completed?
Naperville firm Baumgartner Construction is working on the project, which the city hopes to have completed by Labor Day weekend.
The total cost of the Eagle Street Gateway is around $3.5 million, according to Bill Novack, Naperville’s Director of Transportation, Engineering, and Development. The price will be alleviated by $900,000 of federal funding secured by Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL).
“We’re very fortunate to have some funding from the federal government, Congressman Foster’s office, and Senator Duckworth, who helped us with that,” said Wehrli.
The Eagle Street Gateway and other capital projects within the Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan are also supported by the Riverwalk 2031 Fund.
“Similar to how they got funded when the Riverwalk started, a very grassroots effort where people donated money. So we’ve organized this group called the [Riverwalk 2031 Fund] to raise money to help these improvements get constructed,” said Geoff Roehll, chairman of the Riverwalk 2031 Fund.
Groups working together to improve Naperville
It’s all a group effort to improve a cherished landmark in Naperville.
“There is nothing that put Naperville on the map more than having this Riverwalk here to reignite the excitement of our downtown. So to make sure that we’re reinvesting and keeping the Riverwalk that shining jewel that it’s always been, it’s so important to us,” said Wehrli.
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