10/16/2026
Below is the fifth in a series of letters about the Smoky Hill River Renewal Project from Mike Mattson, one of its most enthusiastic supporters.
So maybe it is time to bring the river project up to date. Maybe time to talk about what the project entails. I've written about some of the history of the river and the folks who have worked to see it revitalized, but how about what is currently going on with the river?
Maybe the best place to start is at the beginning. Water is diverted from the cutoff channel into the old riverbed by a weir dam at the north end of Bill Burke Park. There it will enter into a settling basin designed to remove sediment and clarify the water. This is to help prevent the old channel from silting back up after it has been dredged.
The water will then pass under the flood control d**e through a gated passage. Here a hike and bike trail, connecting to the one on the d**e, will follow along the river. The water will pass through a field of water plants that will naturally remove any toxins that might be present.
The river will flow around and under Ohio Street through a new box culvert that will include a pedestrian underpass. Here the trail will connect to an already complete section that follows the river around the YMCA.
The culvert at YMCA Drive will be replaced by a bridge. From this point the trail will leave the river and be continued along a painted pedestrian right-of-way on the street that circles around on the east and north side of Kenwood Park. The culvert at Midway will be replaced by a bridge.
Past the existing Oakdale Street bridge, the trail will follow the river around Oakdale Park past the existing Mulberry Street bridge to the north entrance to the park. From there it will proceed to the Walnut Street bridge and connect to a "boardwalk" that is part of a concrete-lined channel that extends to Iron Avenue.
At that point, the trail will widen into a festive plaza where Iron and Fourth Street converge. That will take up most of the empty lot access from The Garage Auto Museum. There will be a new bridge replacing the culvert at Iron to include a pedestrian underpass. The trail will continue along the river to a series of cascades that will replace the old and leaking mill dam at Founders Park.
There will be bridges at Ash and Elm Streets to replace the existing culverts. At Riverside Park, the trail will leave the river and follow the sidewalk along the old stone wall to North Ohio Street. There a pedestrian underpass will connect to an already complete trail section around Lakewood Middle School.
At Lakewood Park there will be a short diversion channel connecting the river to the lake. The trail then connects back to the flood control d**e trail.
Some additional features include boating access points along the river, lighting along the trail, and a new retaining wall replacing the rotting wooden one at Fourth Street across the railroad tracks from the water plant. The Army Corps of Engineers will clear out and dredge the old channel.
In order to stay within the projected money available for the project, some features in the original master plan will be delayed until additional funding, either private or public, is available. These include a plaza and water feature at the Midway crossing, a pedestrian bridge just west of the YMCA crossing onto Front Street, and a water feature at Founders Park, with another pedestrian bridge there, connecting a trail along the west side of the river to the one on the east side.
But what about the money?
More next time in Letters from the River. Mike Mattson.
