Funding in the works for Cahaba River Park

Plans for the 4.7-acre Cahaba River Park on Overton Road at Oakdale Drive are still underway.

Bids for first phrase of the project came back over budget this summer, and the Park Board is now looking further into funding options before taking the next step.

The City had originally planned to spend around $250,000 for the first phase, and bids came in closer to $400,000.

Nimrod Long, president of Nimrod Long and Associates, said the first phase could be simplified to include only parking, walkways and river access if needed.

Long’s architectural rendering for the park from early 2012 also includes a fishing ledge, a gazebo, picnic tables and benches.

Long noted that the City spent $700,000 on Overton Park.

He estimated that the project will be bid out again in late 2013, and construction could begin later this year or early 2014, depending on budgeting. The construction would take about six months.

The second bidding process should be quicker since the project has already been bid out once, Long said.

“We know what everything costs and will be able use unit prices to get bids where we need them,” Long said. “We can now use those numbers to put in what we can afford.”

The City acquired the park property in fall 2011 and began plans for it in early 2012.

The park could one day connect to a riverfront greenway trail similar to the Jemison Trail; a trail could run 1.5 to 2 miles to the Carraway-Davie House and Conference Center in Vestavia.