CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The City of Charleston will be holding its final public meeting regarding the Capitol Connector project on Tuesday.
The Connector Project aims to transform the city’s riverfront area, connecting the East End of the city to the West Side. The project begins at Magic Island and ends at the base of the 35th Street Bridge, and also gives improvements to parts of Greenbrier Street.
“Our goal is to make a full bike-able, walkable community, ” Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said on “580 Live” with Dave Allen Monday.
Last year, the city received a $1.7 million planning grant with the help of U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito to lay out the design and needs before taking up public comment. Charleston then received a $25 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in late June for the project.
The Connector Project will also enhance trails along the Kanawha Boulevard with the help of GAI Consultants, and will implement better lighting and storm water management.
Mayor Goodwin says the city needs to utilize the river, but projects of this significance take time and help.
“We’re a riverfront city that doesn’t use our riverfront, but remember, with the City of Charleston, I have a budget. I have 750 employees and I can’t just say, ‘I think I’m going to do a $25 million project tomorrow, it takes time,” Goodwin said. “Going after theses grants has helped us and will help us transform the riverfront.”
The city held multiple public meetings regarding the project in the fall, and Mayor Goodwin says the series of meetings have been important in learning the needs of citizens before shovels hit the ground.
“We have learned so much about what is important from our residents,” Goodwin said. “When you have an open meeting, you think you know what they (the citizens) might want, but there was so much other input that we got from folks.”
The meeting will be held at the Kanawha County Public Library on the 3rd floor at 5:30 p.m.