Cityscape //
It’s almost done. This is a view of the new T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge that pedestrians and cyclists can use to cross the James River. No motorized vehicles are allowed. The bridge links Brown’s Island near 5th Street in Downtown to the Manchester Climbing Wall, part of the floodwall, in South Side. It is named for the late city planner who once led the effort to create the bridge. The project took two years of planning and a year of construction. It includes improvements to the land area on the south bank to make the bridge more accessible. More than $11.5 million has been spent on the development, according to the city, including more than $9 million in city taxpayer funds and $2.5 million from a state grant. Part of the structure, now reinforced and improved, dates to 1901 and sat atop a dam that was built at the time to provide water to generate electricity at a long-defunct power plant on 12th Street. A few years ago, the old power plant was transformed into apartments.
