“Unsafe” portion of Downtown Riverwalk closing

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — On Tuesday night, city staff announced that they will be blocking off about half a block of the downtown riverwalk as they make some much needed repairs to the wooden planks.

Engineers from both the city and other companies said the area needs substantial repairs. Right now, officials said it is not structurally safe to walk on.

Although the city is responsible for the riverwalk, the Brooks Building owns the concrete support underneath. Both the city and the building owners worked for two years to agree on a plan. But now city officials are saying they need to pursue other options to repair the riverwalk.

“Well, they’re just going to have a chance to explore Water Street for that one half a block and then get back on the Riverwalk,” said Dylan Lee, the city spokesman. “But nonetheless that’s also a historic area so we think it’s equally charming.”

City officials said this project is set to begin within the next few days. There’s no word yet on how long the repairs will take.