www.roanoke.com

Photos by Elena DeRosa

More than a decade of effort and millions of dollars have gone into the Roanoke River greenway project, which I would call an unqualified success. Until now.

A section under construction in the Salem area looks like a disaster zone after recent flooding that resulted in 5 inches of rain in the Roanoke Valley earlier this week.

Blogger Elena DeRosa from Roanoke County took these pictures today and she's posted more on her blog, MsElenaeous Pics.

Holy smoke! Torn-down signs, wrinkled asphalt, and sections of paving that looked tossed around like cheap throw rugs.

The section in question runs along East Riverside Drive in Salem. That was just recently paved as a part of the project, and the flooding was particularly acute there Thursday.

Let's hope this doesn't cause a huge setback for that project.

The low-water and mud-prone bridge between Wasena and Smith parks, along the Roanoke River Greenway.

Come Monday, folks, construction crews will begin dismantling the charming but pain-in-the-butt bridge you see on the left in favor of a new structure that won't get covered with mud every time the water rises.

Oh yeah. It'll be a good thing for the fish, too.

E-mail from the city of Roanoke:

ROANOKE, VA - Beginning on Monday, Oct. 12, construction crews will begin replacing the Wiley Drive low water bridge. The construction period is expected to last through March of 2010.

The purpose of this project is to promote wildlife biodiversity along the Roanoke River through fish passage restoration. The new bridge will eliminate the concrete bottom and create a mud line for fish to progress up and downstream. The bridge will also be constructed with larger hydraulic openings to minimize the bridge footprint within the water.

This project is possible through funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Fish America Foundation.

The bridge up for replacement is the one between Wasena and Smith parks. Left unsaid in the e-mail above is what will happen to the OTHER low-water bridge - the one between Smith Park and River's Edge, where the soccer fields are.

That one also gets covered with mud and has all kinds of ugly debris back up behind it when the water rises.

If the latter is scheduled for replacement after this job, it sounds like the greenway will be interrupted for as many as 10 months, and that would be a shame.

Because that greenway is one of the best things in all of Roanoke.

Addenda: I remember hearing about this project back when I covered Roanoke City hall from 1994-97. That was at least 12 years ago!

UPDATE: Right now, cars can enter Smith Park only on the one-way road that begins at the east end of Wasena Park. Luke Pugh in the city's engineering off says the bridge replacement will effectively close Smith Park to car traffic during the project's duration.

There are no plans to replace the other low-water bridge between Smith and River's Edge Park, he added, because fish are able to pass beneath that structure.

Hamilton Terrace Southeast, just off Belleview Avenue near Roanoke Memorial Hospital

From this picture it looks like the most nettlesome stretch of the Roanoke River greenway is soon be cured. It's the short section just past River's Edge Park near Roanoke Memorial Hospital where greenway users are now forced to onto the sidewalk and road and through 2 intersections in the space of about 100 feet.

The "cure" will be to drop the greenway closer to the river and underneath a pedestrian bridge that goes to a hospital parking garage on the other side of the Roanoke River. Then it'll hook up with an already built section that ends in a short stone wall right across the street from the hospital.

For greenway users, it'll mean no more hassles with stop signs, sidewalks, a railroad underpass, pedestrians or the stoplight where Hamilton Terrace meets Belleview Avenue Southeast.

The Ross Barnett Reservoir along the Natchez Trace Parkway/National Park Service photo

The photo on the left is the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 2-lane, 440-mile long ribbon of national park that runs between Nashville, Tenn., and Natchez, Miss. It's kind of like our own Blue Ridge Parkway (without the mountain, that is).

I am riding it this week with some pals . We started Saturday (April 25) in Nashville, and we're planning to hit Natchez sometime Friday. We're going to average about 70 miles a day, counting some side trips to historical sites we're taking along the way.

I'll take plenty of photos and put up a gallery when we return.

From the National Park Service:

The Old Natchez Trace was a series of closely parallel primitive paths carved out of the wilderness by game animals, American Indians, European explorers, and American settlers. Over time, the paths were gradually linked and used for transportation, communication, and trade. For more than two decades, the Old Trace was the most significant highway of the Old Southwest and one of the most important roads in the nation. From 1780 to 1820, it was an avenue of exploration, international rivalry, warfare, trade, settlement and development.

The modern Natchez Trace Parkway, covering a distance of 444 miles from Natchez, Miss., across northwest Alabama to Nashville, Tenn., commemorates the historic Old Trace. The roadway, authorized by Congress in 1938, encompasses a traditional southern landscape that offers travelers manicured grassy roadsides and native tree plantings intermingled with a mosaic of hardwood and softwood forest communities, wetlands, prairie landscapes, agricultural croplands, abundant wildlife, and architecturally significant bridges and structures.

Sites administered by the Parkway include: Tupelo National Battlefield, Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, and the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.

File/The Roanoke Times

Hey folks, don't forget the Mayor's Bike Ride this Saturday at Wasena Park. It's one of the signature events on the city's lengthy Bike Month calendar. You can see that list here.

Led by Mayor David Bowers, the 2.5-mile ride will take you from Wasena Park to Elmwood Park along the Roanoke River and Mill Mountain Greenways (don't worry, you won't have to climb the hill).

The aim is to recognize and celebrate a growing "bicycle culture" in the city. (If you're interested, join the  Roanoke Bike Month Facebook Group here.

Once you're downtown, feel free to enjoy the Strawberry Festival, the Chili Cook-off and the Roanoke City Market. Those always make for a bustling day downtown.

Mayor David Bowers

The details:

Time: 10 a.m. (ride begins at 10:15)

Date: Saturday, May 2

Place: Wasena Park

Who: Open to all ages

Bring: Your bike (and a helmet, if you've got one).

Cost: Free.

There will be escorted rides back to Wasena Park on the half hour until 2 p.m.

The old tollgate on Prospect Road, the

The damaged tollgate along Prospect Road on Mill Mountain is a largely forgotten piece of Roanoke history.

But recently, plenty of folks are remembering it: A small group of public officials, contractors and residents is forming to restore the beautiful stone arch and tollbooth to their former glory.

"The pieces are all there for a public-private partnership," said City Councilman Rupert Cutler, who's spearheading the repair efforts.

Built near the bottom of Prospect Road by William Henritze in the early 1920s, the gate was damaged in February 2008 when some large trees smashed into it during stiff winter winds. It knocked shingles off the small roof over the arch and tore holes in the top of the adjacent booth. Click here for the rest of the column.

Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Richmond

The picture to the left is that of Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, the House GOP whip.

Last week, the good congressman appeared on National Public Radio's morning news program, The Take Away, to criticize the federal stimulus plan.

Now, there are plenty of things to criticize in the stimulus plan. Probably 10,000 different things, in fact. Like more than $150 million in bonuses paid to the financial geniuses who led us into this mess.

But take a wild guess about what Cantor singled out as silly, stupid, and wasteful?

That's right ... bike paths and bike racks.

Here is what he said (h/t to S.D.)

"To give you just an example, $3 million went to the District of Columbia. You know what they did with that money? They’re going to go build bike paths, and they’re going to increase the number of bike racks in neighborhoods like Georgetown. I don’t think that that’s a stimulative move."

Far be it from me to tell Congress what's important and what's not.

But they're supposed to be listening to us. So if you have any views on the subject above, you can let Cantor, or your own district's representative, know here.

BTW, here is what League of American Bicyclists wrote about the subject:

It has been proven that dollar for dollar, bike infrastructure has a higher return on investment than road expansion. In fact, for every $1 million invested in an FHWA-approved paved bicycle or multi-use trail, the local economy gains 65 jobs.

That sounds like some smart stimulus to me.

What do you think? Let me know with a comment.

The scene Sunday afternoon along the Roanoke River Greenway, at the low-water bridge that serves as the juncture of Wasena and Smith parks.

Take a few days of rain followed by a sunny Sunday and what do you get? Scores of people out on Roanoke River Greenway.

This is what you could have seen if you were out on that greenway Sunday -- pedestrians, dog walkers, cyclists and fisherfolk out in droves on what is quickly becoming (if it isn't already) Roanoke's most densely used park.

We're talking young, old, skinny and not-so-skinny people of all races and recreational abilities. It's a marvelous, diverse, multi-generational crowd.

The movement to create a greenways network in Roanoke launched in the late 1990s, when Lucy Ellett, Sally Rugaber and some others convened a community meeting to raise awareness of them. That eventually resulted in the hiring of Liz Belcher as Roanoke Valley Greenways Coordinator.

After many, many halting steps, we have greenways in all of the valley's juristictions. Among them are the Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail in Roanoke County/Salem, the Wolf Creek Greenway in Vinton and the Lick Run Greenway in Roanoke. Read more »