Preliminary Design, 2003

In 2002, the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, and the San Antonio River Authority engaged Ford, Powell & Carson and its consultants to design improvements along the San Antonio River from Lexington Avenue to Hildebrand Avenue. The project team completed preliminary design for the project in 2003. Final design of the Urban Segment (from Lexington Avenue to US-281) is scheduled to be completed in 2005, and construction is scheduled to be complete in 2010.

The river will be lined by protective structures for fish, riverine marshes, and other features which will create and enhance habitat for native plants and animals. Upon completion of the project, the river will be navigable by tour barges up to a turning basin near the former Pearl Brewery. Barges will be raised eight feet by a lock and dam structure north of Brooklyn Avenue, pictured above.

Other features along the Urban Segment will include the reuse of a historic pedestrian bridge which formerly connected two towers at the Lone Star Brewery to connect paths on either side of the river (above right), various water features including ponds and a waterfall, pocket parks, and the turning basin (middle right). The character of the river will change according to the usage of the land surrounding the river. Areas closer to downtown will be more urban in character, while portions of the project further upstream will be more park-like.

The preliminary design also included improvements along the Park Segment of the river through Brackenridge Park and along the Catalpa-Pershing drainage channel. The presently concrete-lined drainage channel will be remade into a more natural waterway, featuring lakes, ponds, riffles, and rebuilt road bridges (bottom right). The Park Segment will also include an interpretive exhibit just south of Hildebrand Avenue where the beginning of the river will be commemorated.