GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The city marked the start of construction on Thursday, Feb. 29, for Phase One of its Walnut Street Redesign project with a groundbreaking ceremony at the center of the street’s historic shops.

Walnut Street Redesign is the first of many planned projects to emerge from the City’s long-range redevelopment plans and create a more pedestrian-friendly destination downtown for the City of Green Cove Springs. The total cost for Phase 1 Walnut Street Improvements is $3,172,747, which will be paid for by designated American Rescue Plan Act and tax revenue funds in the Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024 City Budget.

The work will span Walnut Street from Palmetto Avenue to Magnolia Avenue and take approximately six months to complete.

Improvements from Palmetto to Orange Avenue include two 10-foot-wide driving lanes, an eight-foot parallel parking lane along the north side of the street, a 15-foot-wide sidewalk from building to curb on both sides of the street, improved landscaping, removable bollards on both ends of the street, and an outlined crosswalk.

Improvements from Orange to Magnolia Avenue along Walnut Street include a 15-foot sidewalk from the front of Clay Theatre to the curb and replacing existing sidewalks and curbs on the corner of Walnut Street and Orange Avenue.

Using the existing brick, the brick roadway will be reconstructed to provide two 10-foot driving lanes along Walnut Street from Palmetto to Magnolia Avenue.