Salina lays out Phase 1 of River Renewal project, authorizes property-acquisition work as crews prepare for 2026 construction

Salina city leaders and project consultants on May 12 described the scope and schedule for Phase 1 of the Smoky Hill River Renewal project and authorized work to acquire private property needed for construction.

The study-session presentation framed Phase 1 as a transportation- and amenity-focused package funded largely by a U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE grant and local sales tax money. "We were blessed, really, to win this RAISE grant," HDR project manager Eric Dove said, noting the award lets the city move quickly from design toward construction. City utilities director Martha Tasker told commissioners, "we have about $17,000,000 of sales tax money to spend" on the overall program.

Why it matters: Phase 1 includes seven new and replaced bridges, pedestrian underpasses at North and South Ohio, trail connections to create a roughly 6.3-mile loop, four canoe/kayak launch sites (one ADA-accessible at Lakewood Lake), a boat-storage/maintenance building in Oakdale Park, a Fourth Street plaza area designed as a temporary event street closure, and other park and waterfront improvements. The work is paired with a separate U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ecosystem restoration effort. Together the Corps work and the RAISE-funded elements were described by staff as roughly $60 million; including related feasibility, property work and water-rights purchases the city estimated the combined program near $69,000,000.

Project funding and schedule Martha Tasker said the city expects roughly $17 million in dedicated sales-tax funds available for the effort and identified a local shortfall that would…