The city of Roanoke will soon have a new skatepark, with a whitewater park and completion of the Wasena Bridge to follow.
These projects are taking shape at Wasena Park, one of the crown jewels in Roanoke's park system. It's already home to a playground, ballfields, river access and a long stretch of the Roanoke River Greenway. Now the city is adding more amenities, starting with construction of a new skatepark that should be ready to go by the end of the year. Katie Slusher is park project manager for Roanoke's Parks and Recreation Department.
"That park is largely streetscape elements," Slusher says. "That was really what folks prioritized, so that's the focus, but it's big enough we have a little bit of everything for everyone and also a range of lines in the design, from easy beginner flowy lines up to more difficult ones."
Skatepark construction cost about $1.6 million, with contributions from the city, Salem, Vinton and private donors. A new pump track is also taking shape near the skate park as well.
Meanwhile, crews are building three of five planned sites for an in-river park. They're starting with an accessible put-in by Memorial Bridge, near Vic Thomas Park, along with a takeout by the first low-water bridge on Wiley Drive.
In between is the heart of the project, which sits below the bridge from Vic Thomas to Wasena parks, and will be built to accommodate river-lovers of all types.
"Your average person that just comes to the river to wade in the water a bit or float a section in a tube," Slusher says. "This is still going to be a great place to do that. It's going to be even more fun, have even better access for those folks, but it will also have some of these wave features and things that will make it more exciting for your kayakers, your surfers, that kind of thing."
The project's price tag at this point is between $5 and $6 million, and the city is considering adding two more sections that could add another $3 million. Depending on whether they're added, the in-river park should open by the end of 2026, or 2027.
Then there's the Wasena Bridge replacement. City engineer and project manager Josephus Koroma-Johnson says the project is 65% complete.
Workers have placed four of the bridge's five Y-piers, and is moving toward finishing the abutment with Old Southwest and beginning to lay the deck. The bridge replacement cost roughly $50 million and is on track to be completed by summer 2026.
