Lower Cascades Park Streambank Stabilization & Trail Construction Update:
Excavation work has begun at Lower Cascades Park for the Trail Phase 5 and Streambank Stabilization project. Contractors have installed a temporary access culvert for construction equipment and are starting the installation of new storm drain pipes this week. The road through Lower Cascades Park remains closed to motor vehicles until flood repairs, resurfacing, and the installation of traffic calming measures is complete. Pedestrians and cyclists using the road are encouraged to use caution in the area.
The parking lots on both the north and south sides of the Lower Cascades Park playground are accessible by vehicle from the north. The Waterfall Shelter remains closed to reservations and nearby sections of the park will be closed for active construction work in the near future.
This project will create a quarter mile of new 8-foot wide paved trail from the southern end of the Sycamore Shelter parking lot to a new trail roundabout just south of the Waterfall Shelter. From there, an approximately 730' long accessible boardwalk will be built to a viewing platform at the waterfall, and a new pedestrian bridge will connect the roundabout to the southern parts of the park.
The project will also stabilize approximately 430+ feet of streambank in the vicinity of the Waterfall Shelter by removing parts of the damaged and eroded wall, pulling back the streambank into tiers, and lining them with large limestone blocks. Pulling back the streambank will allow the creek to slow down during high-water events, reducing the erosive forces and decreasing the amount of sediment carried by the water. Additionally, the project will install new infrastructure for improved lighting through this portion of the park.
An unrelated City of Bloomington Utilities project at the park’s southern end is substantially complete.