American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas





		San Antonio Expands Famed River Walks Reach For Increased Tourism





		On Saturday, May 30, 2009, after more than a decade of planning, fundraising, design and construction, the famed San Antonio River Walk officially grew by 1.3 miles. The “Museum Reach Urban Segment” extension of the most popular tourist destination in Texas opened to the public in a weekend of festive celebration, with visitors strolling along meandering paths, taking leisurely riverboat rides and enjoying river crossings and banks dotted with displays of public art. But the extension of the River Walk offers more than meets the eye. Today, riverboats can cruise further than ever before, delivering visitors to the San Antonio Museum of Art and the historic Pearl Brewery via a gravity-fed dual-chamber lock and dam and crest gate facility that allows boat access to the far northern reach of the river.

		This project fuses form and function in what has been called a “renaissance design” that joined engineers and architects in a blend of flood control, artistic amenities, ecosystem restoration, engineering and recreational improvements. The extension of the River Walk is an engineering project that multi-tasks, offering signature elements of sustainability that ensure the long-term viability of both the San Antonio River and the River Walk. Effective engineering merged with imagination, innovation and community collaboration to integrate a linear park and enhanced flood control in a highly urbanized environment. A unique partnership between design and purpose demanded solving design issues that often created simultaneous constraints and opportunities. Designing the channel as an effective and efficient flood control structure within a visually stimulating and ADA-compliant linear park required technical engineering excellence and an understanding of public expectations.


		The San Antonio River Improvements Museum Reach Urban Segment Project was designed by HDR based in Omaha, Nebraska. This project was a gold medal winner in the 2010 ACEC Texas Engineering Excellence Awards Competition.