CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – During the Clarksville Parks and Recreation meeting this week, the committee announced installing new benches made out of windmill blades for Valleybrook Park and a start date on the Red River bridge construction.
Valleybrook benches
Last year, the committee came up with an idea for a new feature at Clarksville’s Valleybrook Park. “We bought some benches to do an art project,” Parks and Recreation operations director Randy Kelly told the committee on Tuesday. “We bought eight pieces and worked with Ellen Kanervo from Arts and Heritage, and three students from Austin Peay gave samples of artistry of what it would look like on benches,” he said.
Along with the artwork done by APSU students, what makes the new benches different is the material they are made out of. Chairman Brian Zacharias updated the other committee members who may not have known the details of the project.
“A company repurposes windmill blades and turns them into usable pieces of outdoor furniture, and we got some,” Zacharias said.
For the past month, the three APSU students have been working on painting the benches and have finished the artwork for three of the six benches. All that is left is for them to pick a date to bring in the finished benches. The benches will be at Valleybrook Park located at 213 Crossland Ave.
Red River Pedestrian Bridge
Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Letourneau made an announcement about the Red River pedestrian bridge construction.
“It’s finally happening, it’s exciting,” Letourneau told the committee. “It’s been a long time coming, it’s been six years with a lot of state rotation, COVID, and other things.”
The construction of the bridge will be starting on July 7 and is expected to be completed in March 2026. The bridge will connect the northern side of the Clarksville Greenway to southern side, leading to the Riverwalk at McGregor Park.
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