DATE: Wednesday, July 16, 1997              TAG: 9707160405

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   59 lines

NEW LANDING OPENS FRIDAY AT FOOT OF OLDE TOWNE HIGH STREET INLET IS PART OF PORTSMOUTH'S REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.

High Street Landing, the new $4 million inlet that will serve as a ferry stop and pleasure boat dock at the foot of Olde Towne's main artery, will open at 11 a.m. Friday with a public celebration.

The opening, originally scheduled for Memorial Day, takes place at the beginning of the city's Cock Island Race weekend, which brings hundreds of sailboats and spectators to the waterfront.

Construction at the inlet was delayed for two startling reasons.

In February, a late 18th-century shipwreck was discovered during the excavation. The artifacts now are being analyzed and identified.

In the spring, an automobile with the bodies of two young Navy men was dredged from the bottom of the inlet. The driver had apparently lost control of his car and crashed through a fence, plunging into the water.

The inlet was dug to 15 feet below mean sea level. More than 18,000 cubic yards of earth were removed from the area and used to create a park along the Seawall near City Hall.

For the dedication, the landscaped area around the inlet will be transformed into the semblance of an old-time snapshot with an archway of balloons, a large garrison flag, a replica of a paddle-wheel boat and even an impersonation of Col. William Crawford, who founded Portsmouth on that very spot.

The James River Jazz Band will start playing at 11 a.m. Prior to the opening, the Portsmouth Flag Associates will dedicate the flag on the pole that was kept in place during construction. A peninsula of land was designed around the flag to make it the focal point of the inlet.

The project is a joint venture of the city and Tidewater Regional Transit, which financed its $1.9 million share of the costs with a federal grant.

Sheldon Kimbar, regional administrator of the Federal Transit Administration in Washington, will speak at the opening ceremony.

After the ceremony, the James C. Echols will leave the dock for Norfolk. The natural gas-powered ferry, named for the former executive director of TRT, has been in operation since last year.

The ferry between Portsmouth and Norfolk operates at half-hour intervals between the two cities. Until recently, the main dock was at Portside and a second stop was made at High Street on every other run during the summer. With the main dock now at High Street, the ferry schedule for Portside has not been determined, but city officials have said some stops may be made there to accommodate commuters who live nearby.

The landing is the first completed project of Portsmouth's Vision 2005 economic and community development plan. In addition to the docks for the ferry and pleasure boats, and the flag site, the project will include a new waterfront walk lined with restored cannons from various phases of military history that have greatly influenced Portsmouth.

The project also included landscaping and patios around the Naval Shipyard Museum and Admiral's Landing, a condominium building adjoining the inlet.

The trapezoidal inlet is about 215 feet from the Seawall to Water Street and ranges from 115 to 200 feet wide. ILLUSTRATION: VP

Map

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu