New West Riverwalk Stretch Along University of Tampa Set to Open by Year's End

The nearly 2,000-foot stretch of the West Riverwalk that runs along the University of Tampa campus, from Plant Park north to Cass Street, is expected to open by the end of this year, the city announced Aug. 12. That gives Tampa families, students and downtown workers a new car-free waterfront path on the west bank of the Hillsborough River within months, and it is the first substantial piece of the $60 million West River BUILD project to reach the finish line.

The trail is 12 feet wide and built for walkers, runners, strollers and bikes at the same time. The Haskell Company is doing the work. Weather is the caveat the city attached to the year-end date.

Built to look like it belongs there

The design borrows from the campus it runs through. Decorative brick bands line both sides of the trail, echoing the brick already in Plant Park and the look of UT's historic buildings. New light poles were picked to match the fixtures already on campus.

One detail is worth slowing down for: a small section of the original pathway, stamped concrete dating to the early 1900s, was saved and worked into the new trail. So a piece of the walkway from the Tampa Bay Hotel era is still underfoot.

Crews are also putting in roughly 65 new palm trees and at least five hammock stations along the route. Hammocks on a public riverfront trail are a first for this corridor.

The city is asking people to stay out of the active work zone until it opens, which is a real request and not boilerplate: heavy equipment is still operating along the riverbank.

What else is happening on the river

Five of the six segments of the West River BUILD project are under construction. Altogether the project covers about three miles of roadway improvements and two miles of new Riverwalk, plus living shorelines, new sidewalks, new crosswalks and ADA upgrades. Roadway and sidewalk work is in progress on Platt Street and Rome Avenue, with Columbus Drive next.

The heaviest engineering is out over the water. Crews began installing close to 70 drilled shafts and piles in May to support three overwater structures: the Platt Street Pedestrian Bridge, the Brorein Street Pedestrian Bridge and an observation overlook at Tony Jannus Park. Each support goes roughly 40 feet into the riverbed, and some reach nearly 50 feet. Haskell brought in Orion Marine Construction for that piece, working off barges with cranes and drilling rigs. Substructure and deck work follows once the shafts are set.

As of early July, the overall project was about 20 percent complete, according to city updates. Mayor Jane Castor has said the pedestrian bridges will be among the most memorable additions to a Riverwalk experience that already draws crowds, and has called the project one of the most significant Tampa has taken on for connecting neighborhoods.

When all of it is done, the West Riverwalk is meant to work as a route, not just a scenic stop, linking Hyde Park, North Hyde Park, West Tampa, Riverside Heights, Ridgewood Park and other neighborhoods to downtown without a car.

Who is paying for it

Source	Amount
Federal BUILD grant	$24 million
West Tampa CRA	$10 million
Community Investment Tax	About $7.5 million
Future non-ad valorem bonds	About $16.8 million
Added federal funding (2026)	$250,000

The extra $250,000, announced earlier this year by Rep. Kathy Castor, is set aside for minor enhancements down the road.

The city has not announced an opening date or event for the UT section, only the year-end window. Construction on the rest of the project is scheduled to wrap in spring 2027. Renderings and segment maps are posted on the project site, westriverbuild.com, and current lane and road closures are listed at tampa.gov/road-closures.

For more local coverage, visit Tampa Community Website, follow us on Facebook, and tell us where you will walk first by joining the conversation in our Community Forum. You can read more stories about projects on the way in Coming Soon and more neighborhood news in Community.

Header photo: Treyt021 at en.wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)