Newport on the Levee celebrates opening of Riverfront Commons Pedestrian Bridge, Bridgeview Box Park

NEWPORT, Ky. (FOX19) - A big day of celebrations marked by two ribbon-cutting ceremonies Saturday at the Riverfront Commons Pathway in Newport.

The $1.2 million Riverfront Commons Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Taylor Southgate Bridge to the riverwalk level of Newport on the Levee, was dedicated.

A second ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Bridgeview Box Park.

Eight local restaurants and retailers are open and people can buy adult beverages as they walk through the park across from the Newport Aquarium.

“This is a historic day in The City of Newport,” Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso said. This is a project that was more than 20 years in the making. “I applaud and thank Southbank Partners President Jack Moreland, the Southbank Board and the Southbank’s founders for having the vision to conceive Riverfront Commons and the tenacity to see it through,” Peluso added.

Riverfront Commons, an 11.5-mile walking/biking path, runs along the Ohio River and connects all Northern Kentucky river cities.

“We’re excited for the connectivity. This is sort of the final piece to put in place for this general area. As you know, we’ve been talking about Riverfront Commons for about 20 years, but this piece has been in the planning stage for about three years. It connects the Taylor Southgate Bridge on both sides to the top of the flood levees, so if you’re coming from Covington, you can get to Cincinnati very easily across the Taylor Southgate. So, walkability and connectivity are really the order of the day,” Jack Moreland, president of Southbank Partners, said.

“What we want people to do is to see something across the river and say ‘hey that looks pretty neat let’s go over there’ and find an easy way for that to happen,” Moreland said.

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