Memphis Gets Grant For Bike Path Over Harahan Bridge

(Memphis) It’s a bridge more than a 100 years old, connecting Tennessee and Arkansas by train and at one point also by vehicle. 

But, in a few years, people could be walking and biking right over the Mississippi River.

“And you’ll be able to look at the Memphis sky line and have that experience is going to be fantastic,” said Paul Morris.

Morris is with the Downtown Memphis Commission and says he’s been working towards this goal for years.

Revamping the Harahan Bridge looks like it’s now going to happen.

“Yesterday I got a call from Cohen`s office and I was just dumbfounded,” said Morris. “I couldn`t believe we had won this lottery.”

Representative Steve Cohen called him with the news that Congress approved the request for a $15 million dollar grant.

The money will go to the City of Memphis to build that trail on the bridge and to revitalize Main Street downtown.

Morris said when completed, the project is going to attract more tourists to Memphis and make the city more livable for young people, “The other great thing about it is that it connects us to West Memphis, a community that we don’t have a lot of connections with but is right over the river.”

Soon Arkansas will be less than a mile of a walk or bike ride away.

The total project is expected to cost $30 million dollars with half of the money coming from private donations.

Congressman Cohen says his goal is to have the project completed by Summer 2014.