The idea is to uncover 1,100 feet of Jordan Creek and add several bridges nearby. The creek currently flows underground beneath a downtown parking lot.
Tim Rosenbury, the City’s director of quality of place initiatives, discussed daylighting Jordan Creek at a recent Council workshop.
“The idea of taking a parking lot and on a key seam between downtown and a remerging Jordan Valley is pretty important to transform that into something else and the strategy is around stormwater,” said Rosenbury. “Taking this creek and making it an amenity.”
The city wants to promote better water quality; reduce flooding; add more pedestrian paths and greenspace; and improve safety.
Along with the other improvements, daylighting Jordan Creek could cost nearly $30 million. Local funding for the project comes from the City’s level property tax, along with sales taxes and other state and federal funding.
In a city news release, Olsson engineering project manager Jared Rasmussen said much of the design for the project is already complete.
Environmental and permitting processes will be reviewed this fall by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Natural Resources and BNSF Railway.
Contractor bids for the project are expected next year, with construction expected to start by summer 2024.
Jordan Creek’s new look could be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.
