A JB Coxwell video about the McCoys Creek project shows part of the Northbank Riverwalk and pedestrian crossover dismantled for the time being. | JB Coxwell
Published on May 20, 2025 at 11:08 am
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Q: Construction work has closed a stretch of the Northbank Riverwalk for some time in the Brooklyn and Riverside communities.
Jacksonville Today reader Nancy H. notes that walking Downtown has become difficult because it requires multiple crossings at busy intersections.
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Nancy asks:
“When will the Riverwalk from (the Riverside Arts Market) to Downtown be reopened all the way?” “
Nancy also suspects that a private business is responsible for the closure, since the Riverwalk has been closed at the new apartment complex next to Haskell.
“Why does a private business have the right to close a public, city Riverwalk?” she asks.
A: A lot of the closed Northbank Riverwalk should reopen late this year or early next, city officials say.
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All of the Riverwalk closures are the result of public projects, not private businesses — even though a section west of the Acosta Bridge abuts the 1 Riverside mixed-use project.
The Riverwalk and a pedestrian bridge have been removed as part of the city’s McCoy’s Creek Restoration project. That includes reconstructing the channel from Leland Street to Interstate 95, as well as from May Street to the St. Johns River, all to resolve flooding during heavy rains.
Daryl Joseph, head of Jacksonville’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, said the pedestrian bridge will be rebuilt by the end of this year.
“The pedestrian bridge that is adjacent to the waterfront needs to be adjusted to accommodate the new creek location,” Joseph said in an email. “The bridge was closed and was partially demolished when the McCoy’s Creek project commenced.”
The McCoys Creek relocation includes moving the waterway eastward at the river’s edge. It used to run under what was once the Florida Times-Union’s parking lot, which was a bit further west of the Acosta and railroad bridges. The creek is now being rerouted eastward to follow its original route on the surface, flowing under the Riverside Avenue overpass south, then next to the railroad bridge to the river.
The old Times-Union building was demolished in 2022 to make way for the new 1 Riverside apartment development as well as the redirected creek, with park and footbridge over it.
Other parts of the Northbank Riverwalk have been shut down between Pearl and Main streets, and from Jackson Street to the Acosta Bridge. Those closures are due to city projects, and all due to reopen by the end of this year or just after.
- In front of the CSX building, the city is building a new bulkhead between the Acosta Bridge and West Coastline Drive to solve some erosion and subsidence issues along that length of the Riverwalk.
- What was known as Corkscrew Park — workout equipment, yoga mats and other exercise equipment next to the Riverwalk under the Acosta Bridge — is closed through this fall due to bulkhead work.
- The city is adding a Music Heritage Garden on the waterfront of the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center at 300 Water St., now set to be done by early next year.
- As Riverfront Plaza rises on the site of the former Jacksonville Landing, work to realign part of Independent Drive is adding a more flood-resistant bulkhead. The plaza’s second phase will include a pedestrian ramp from the Main Street bridge.
Updates on many Downtown Jacksonville projects can be found at the “I Dig Jax” website.
