Steering a kayak through a whitewater rapids within a stone's throw of downtown Minneapolis has been a
longtime dream of local paddling enthusiasts.
The idea has been to take advantage of some of the Mississippi River's approximately 50-foot drop at St. Anthony Falls along the river's east bank. A manmade course of restored rapids could be controlled, according to plans, so as to provide the right flow for a range of recreational users, from leisurely rafters to competitive racers.
The concept has received both
state and federal support over the last decade or more. Now a redesign of the project by consultants for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is underway, with a draft report due this fall.
Designers are considering a continuous, looping course--using a conveyor to return paddlers back to the beginning --as an alternative to a linear course with start and finish far apart. They are also taking into account changed conditions on the ground like the new piers of the replaced I-35W bridge.
At a progress meeting last week, an expert on whitewater courses presented encouraging numbers: restored rapids in Minneapolis could attract 62,000 people annually. Even the least lucrative of four business models shows that most costs of operation could be recovered. (Construction costs are another matter.)
Project Manager Russel K. Snyder calls the course that the Mississippi River whitewater park concept is taking through the federal system "unusual." But like the whitewater rapids it would restore, the project keeps moving, stirring passions and possibilities.
Source: Russel K. Snyder, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Writer: Chris Steller