GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The City of Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids WhiteWater announced Monday that the state has approved permits to begin work on the Grand River restoration project in the downtown area.
Project Manager Matt Chapman added they want to have crews in the river by next summer.
“It's a really big deal, and we are celebrating,” Chapman said.
The project manager has been working to get the rapids restored for almost a decade.
“It’s just a really great opportunity for people to have a place where they can really connect with nature, right in the heart of an urban setting,” Chapman said.
The city is going to handle the contracting over the next few months. Chapman told FOX 17 that people can expect to see crews working to remove the four lower dams from Bridge Street to Fulton Street.
“Those dams that are out there today create this dangerous hydraulic current. We really don't want people to be out there,” Chapman said.
Plans show that crews will also be placing in larger rocks and boulders to create rapids.
“I think we'll see more people canoeing, kayaking, tubing, floating through the river, wading out there,” Chapman said. “Once we actually see the equipment in the river, we'll have a chance to, you know, really understand and realize that it's real and it's happening. And then the big the big joy and pride, obviously, will be when it's all said and done.”
This is a huge milestone, considering the state turned down the original plan over a year ago, and developers had to go back to the drawing board. Chapman explains it could take two construction seasons to get the downtown section of the river where they want it for people to enjoy.
“We’re trying to make the river better,” Chapman said.
He adds this transformation will also help bring more native fish.
“We really expect more walleye, bass, even sturgeon. Some of the features that we're building will create a nursery habitat for sturgeon,” Chapman said.
Grand Rapids WhiteWater adds that, with city funding, they have $22 million to restore the rapids. Chapman says they hope to get a federal grant to help cover even more of this project.
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